


Once Upon A Time in the Woods... (or: Three is the Magic Number)

by sinfulslasher (Gaby)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Angst, Fairytale ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Pre-Slash, Shifter AU, cursed!Jared, friends-to-lovers, shifter!JDM, shifter!Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:12:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9912734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaby/pseuds/sinfulslasher
Summary: In a world where shifters are ostracized as freaks of nature, Jensen is desperately trying to figure out what the future will hold for him and his shifter form. Eager to learn more about the reclusive shifter society, he finds a secluded resort run by Jeff that caters exclusively as a vacation spot to shifters of all kinds. Even though he is welcomed there with open arms, Jensen soon discovers that Jeff is keeping a big secret: a pink unicorn named Jared.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **Author's Notes:** Written for the 2016 SPN RBB based on the absolutely amazing art by beelikej. Your initially created unique art inspired my muse to write a semi-epic. :) And with every new scene or idea I shared with you, you came up with additional art. I can't thank you enough for illustrating my story. Working with you on this project was a pleasure. ♥  
>  Everyone, please [go here](http://beelikej.livejournal.com/512562.html) and leave beelikej some well-deserved love and praise!!!  
>  **Beta by:** elrhiarhodan - thank you _so much_ for coming to the rescue on such short notice, hon. Your help turned this story into something readable. You rock! I tweaked and polished the fic afterwards so any remaining mistakes are mine.  
>  **Disclaimer:** Jared, Jensen, Jeffrey Dean and any other recognizable persons belong to themselves. The depiction of them as characters in this story has nothing to do with the actual persons. No disrespect is intended.

Jensen dropped his duffel to the dusty ground, stretched his back and groaned in pain. He squinted at the glaring sun and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Who would have thought that it could get this hot in Wyoming of all places?

He asked himself, and not for the first time, if this was the stupidest thing he had ever done in his life. Packing all of his meager belongings and leaving his Texas home the day after graduating from high school, using what little money he had to make his way up north by bus, hitch-hiking and walking. Mostly walking.

If only he had known exactly where he was going, but the mysterious, mystical place described in his book was well hidden. For good reason, of course. Normal people weren't supposed to find it, after all.

But Jensen wasn't normal. Jensen was special. Others might call him a freak of nature or an abomination, but deep down he knew that having the shifter gene was a gift.

He took off his backpack and rummaged around in it until he found his much beloved copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Shifter Life and Lore_ by Dr. Dmitri Krushnic. It was a battered looking paperback with dozens of earmarks and highlighted sections, read and reread countless times by a teenaged boy who was desperately trying to understand what was going on in his body.

He had shifted only once in his life, completely panicking when he woke up in the middle of the night during a camping trip with his friends and realized he was a deer.

Jensen had somehow managed to shift back into his human form before any of his buddies had seen him. Since then, he had been careful not to get too scared or excited -- Dr. Krushnic's book explained that highly emotional states could trigger shifting unless you had mastered the art of controlled shifting. Unfortunately, the book didn't mention anything about how to learn controlled shifting, so that was a bust.

Either way, Jensen had never told his family or friends about being a shifter. He was convinced that his family would be supportive and still love him, but he couldn't be too careful. While shifters had, in theory, equal rights and were full members of society, it was that very same society that showed barely concealed contempt of shifters, ostracized shifters and discriminated against them. People lost their job if they were found out to be shifters. They got divorced and never saw their children again. Most of society believed that shifters were created by a genetic mutation and that they should be eradicated.

Dr. Krushnic estimated that only a tenth of one percent of humankind had the shifter gene but it was nothing more than an educated guess. There was very little research, medical or scientific experts, funding to find out how the genetic mutation had developed, if it was hereditary, how to deal with medical problems, and what the psychological effects of shifting were.

Most of the gathered knowledge was either hearsay or information shared among shifters during secret meetings. Jensen had heard rumors that there was a secret network of clubs and places where shifters could meet to be among their own kind. He had tried to find such a place near his home but had had no such luck. In his book, however, Dr. Krushnic described a place in the middle of nowhere, a secluded resort where shifters of all kind could come and truly be themselves. An exclusive vacation spot just for shifters -- how cool was that? And Jensen was determined to find that place.

He thumbed through the battered paperback until he found the page where Dr. Krushnic had mentioned the resort. There were more tidbits of information spread throughout the book, sneakily hidden in completely unrelated chapters, and it had taken Jensen several months to gather all bits and pieces and put everything together. The information was still pretty vague, but he had managed to figure out that the resort was in western Wyoming. He knew -- or thought he knew -- where to look for. Unfortunately, Jensen had been walking down the country road for several miles now and his feet were killing him. A dirt road was supposed to branch off the country road and lead to the resort. He had ventured down several dirt roads already but all of them had been a dead end.

Jensen sighed and squinted at the sun again. It was so hot that the air was shimmering and the heat from the asphalt was burning through the soles of his boots. He needed a place to rest and stay in the shade for a couple of hours or he would get a heatstroke.

Decision made, Jensen heaved his backpack on his shoulders again and grabbed his duffel. He took a couple of steps away from the road and toward the forest that began to grow nearby when he suddenly saw a small boulder a few feet ahead of him.

There were three slashes carved into the boulder.

Jensen immediately opened his book again and double-checked the information. The resort was named Three Claws. Dr. Krushnic explicitly mentioned Three Claws several times in his book. And these three slashes in the boulder looked as if a bear had carved them with his claws.

This had to mean something.

Jensen walked closer to the small boulder, hoping against hope to find more clues on it, and saw a small dirt road leading into the forest right next to it.

"Yes!" he exclaimed with a huge grin on his face. Suddenly full of energy again, Jensen began to follow the dirt road.

About a mile later, Jensen's smile turned into a frown.

"If this is another dead end, I'm going to give up and go back to Texas," he muttered to himself, glaring at the dirt road that seemed to lead nowhere except deeper into the woods.

But then, after another curve, the road began to meander down a small hill, toward a large clearing. Jensen could see a large ranch-style building in the distance, with open fields and a lake to the left. There were stables and a paddock to the right, with more woods in the background.

This had to be it. This had to be the resort Dr. Krushnic had mentioned in his book.

Jensen picked up his pace and all but stumbled down the rest of the winding road. Right before the road opened up into the clearing, we walked through an open wooden gate that welcomed him to the "Three Claws Resort".

"Jackpot," Jensen whispered to himself, grinning. He rushed into the courtyard, trying to take in everything at once while at the same time trying to figure out where to go first and what to say to the first person he would meet. It was almost eerily quiet with nobody around. Jensen could hear some birds chirping in the trees and there was one horse dozing in the paddock. He could see several cars parked around the corner of the ranch house as well as a jeep in the middle of the courtyard.

Not sure what to do, Jensen stopped near the jeep and looked around.

A second later, he heard a loud, angry voice yelling from inside the stables. He turned around just in time to see two older teenaged boys run out of the stables and toward the jeep, laughing and making mocking comments about "freaks" staying at "the circus here". They were chased by a man waving an actual pitchfork at the teenagers. He continued to yell at them, threatening bodily harm if they ever showed their faces again. The teenagers jumped into the jeep and drove off with screeching tires, still laughing as if they had managed to pull some elaborate prank.

Jensen stared after the jeep, trying to figure out what had just happen, when the man suddenly stood next to him. "You," the man thundered. "What do you want?"

Jensen jumped and turned around, his eyes widening in fear when he came face to face with the pitchfork. Then his brain short-circuited as he realized how ruggedly good-looking the man was, with his salt-and-pepper scruff, dark eyes and well-muscled body. "Uh..." he said intelligently.

"I'm _done_ with you local kids showing up here and disturbing me and my guests on some stupid dare. This is private property. You go back and tell the rest of your friends that the next time I find one of you idiots here, it ain't gonna be a pitchfork in my hand. I'm armed, ya know?"

Jensen swallowed in fear and took a step back, not sure what to say.

The man narrowed his eyes and regarded him for a moment. "You're not one of the local kids," he finally said.

"Well, no." Jensen wasn't even sure what "local" meant around here. He was in the middle of nowhere, miles from the next town.

The man continued to look at him. "What are you doing here?" he finally asked, his voice sounding a lot calmer than before.

"Uh..." Jensen blinked and looked around. "I...I've been trying to find this place. I...I've wanted to...to learn more about...uh..." He had no idea why he was suddenly so tongue-tied. Maybe it was the menacing looking pitchfork. Not to mention the incredibly sexy guy holding it. But mostly it was the pitchfork. Probably.

"This isn't a freak show or a circus. This is an exclusive resort where people come to spend their vacation. We don't want strangers around here." The man's voice was coldly furious.

"What? No! I know shifters aren't freaks. It's horrible that society still thinks so. I came here to learn more about shifter society and...stuff..."

The man quirked an eyebrow. "Shifters? What shifters? There are no shifters here. And what _stuff_?" he echoed. "Where did you hear about--" He stopped when he saw the book Jensen was clutching to his chest like a lifeline. "Oh. That." He looked as if he had just bit into a lemon but at least his hostile body language changed. He visibly relaxed, as if Jensen had mentioned a secret code word or had offered him a secret handshake. "Well, at least you were smart enough to figure out the riddle. It's really difficult to piece together the information and manage to actually end up here." He gave Jensen an almost approving look. "So, now that you found the place, what do you expect will happen?"

Jensen shrugged. "I... Honestly, I'm not sure. I just wanted to find this place." He bit his lip and looked around. "Maybe I could help out around here? I'd love to stay and observe and learn and just..." He waved one hand around helplessly.

"Take it all in?" the man suggested with a chuckle. Jensen nodded. The man gave him a long, assessing look. Finally, he asked, "You know how to muck out stables?"

Jensen had never held a pitchfork in his life but he nodded anyway. How hard could it be, right?

The man shoved the pitchfork at Jensen. "Okay, kid. You manage to clean the stables in half an hour, we talk and I might let you stay for a couple days."

Jensen grinned and all but ran into the stables. How difficult could it be to muck out a couple of stalls? Granted, he was physically exhausted from travelling and walking for miles and really only wanted to collapse in a heap and sleep for a day or two, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he wouldn't screw this up.

He dropped his duffel and backpack near the entrance and looked around. There were six stalls, four of which seemed to be in use. Jensen raised a surprised eyebrow. He had only seen one horse in the paddock so where were the other three? He shrugged. It was no matter really. He was on a tight schedule and had to clean four stalls. Then he realized that the first stall had already been taken care of. The man must have been in the middle of mucking out the stables when those idiotic teenagers had shown up.

Glad that there was less work to do, Jensen went into the second stall and began to muck.

Fifteen minutes later, he had finally managed to finish cleaning the second stall and was convinced that his back was breaking in half. He was never going to get the other two stalls done before his half an hour was over. Damn that bastard. He must've known that it was impossible for Jensen to get the job done in the allotted time. It was probably just a trick to get him to leave again, but instead of scaring him off the property, the man got clean stables out of it as well.

No. No, he wasn't going to be defeated.

Jensen glared determinedly at the dirty stalls, conjured up the last vestiges of energy and attacked the job at hand.

When the man leaned around the corner to announce that the half hour was up, Jensen was taking the last remains of muck out of the stalls with a wheelbarrow.

The man went inside to inspect the stalls and whistled approvingly. "Not bad for a first try," he said.

"What makes you think I haven't done this before?" Jensen asked, sounding defensive.

The man just chuckled. "Trust me, kid, the way you held that pitchfork? I'd be surprised if you've ever been near stables, much less inside one."

Jensen glowered. "I'm from Texas."

"Yeah, so?" The man grinned, and Jensen could see hints of dimples hiding behind the scruff. It made his stomach feel all funny. "So, what's your name, kid?"

"I'm Jensen." He held out his hand hesitantly. "Jensen Ackles."

"Well, Jensen. Jensen Ackles," the man said, giving him a firm handshake. "My name's Jeffrey Dean. Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I run this place." He made an encompassing gesture. "You can call me JD if you like."

Jensen's eyes widened. There was mention of a JD in Dr. Krushnic's book -- not necessarily in connection with the resort, but as an advocator of shifter rights. It might just be a coincidence but Jensen was determined to find out either way.

"Okay, I promised we'd talk and you might get to stay here a couple of days if you cleaned up the mess in here in record time," JD said, nodding inside the stables. "Grab your stuff and let's go into the main house. I think you could use a glass of water." He wrinkled his nose a little and added with a grin, "And maybe a hot shower."

Jensen smiled gratefully at that, picked up his backpack and duffel, grabbed his beloved paperback and then rushed to follow JD across the courtyard. "Where is everybody?" he asked curiously. "This is the resort mentioned in the book, right? The book says there are always dozens of shifters visiting because it's the best place for them to be themselves."

JD raised an eyebrow. "You believe everything you read?"

Jensen blinked, taken aback. It was all but impossible to find solid information on shifters and for some reason, he had been convinced that the book was the real thing, not some conspiracy nonsense filled with fake news or half-truths.

JD chuckled. "Gotcha." He waved one hand around. "They're around here somewhere." He pointed. "In the lake. Deep in the forest. Hopping around in that field over there."

At that moment, a bright red parrot came swooping down, crying loudly and demandingly. It landed on JD's shoulder, flapping its wings dramatically before settling down, and then nibbled the man's scruff affectionately.

JD gave a mock annoyed sigh. "Hey Misha," he greeted the parrot. "Guess what? We finally found that one person who bought your book."

The parrot gave an inquisitive squawk, cocked its head and looked at Jensen. It flapped its wings again, excitedly this time, and seemed pleased to see the book in Jensen's hand. Then it bit JD's earlobe in retaliation for making fun of the book.

"Wait." Jensen looked confused between JD and the parrot, holding up the book. "This was written by Dr. Dmitri Krushnic. He's a scientist. A researcher. He's not a shifter named..." He wrinkled his nose a little at the absurdity of the name. "Misha?"

The parrot squawked again and flapped its wings.

"No!" JD said sternly to the parrot. "You will _not_ shift back right now. I'm not going to have this kid be traumatized by your naked ass, Mish."

The parrot squawked again, turned around on JD's shoulder, raised its tail and pooped on the front of JD's shirt. Then it bobbed its head with a cackle, gave Jensen a wink and took off again.

"Damn it, Misha!" JD called after the bird. "Next time you come near me, I'm putting you in a cage!" He wiped futilely at the small mess on his shirt and sighed. "Well, Jensen, this was Misha. Or, more accurately, Dr. Dmitri Krushnic. His nickname is Misha."

Jensen stared after the parrot, who by now sat on a branch of a nearby tree watching them. Then he looked at the book in his hands, a slow smile spreading on his face. "This is so cool," he enthused. "I love it here."

JD snorted at that. "Well, at least you're easy to please. Come on." He continued their walk toward the main building, giving the parrot a stink-eye.

Jensen hastened to catch up. "So, all the animals around here are your guests then?" he asked, looking around. "The other birds and the horse in the paddock and that dog on the porch?"

"No. The horse is mine and the dog is my actual pet. The birds are mostly just birds. We do have a couple of feathered guests at the moment though. Aside from that lunatic up there." He gestured at the parrot.

"Misha wants a cookie," the parrot screeched back with an amused bob of its head.

"I hate you, Mish," JD yelled with a mock-annoyed eye roll.

"Misha still wants a cookie," the parrot shot back before swooping down and toward the main building.

"If I find you in the kitchens again, I'll make you the main course tonight," JD threatened, then turned to Jensen. "He actually does love cookies and keeps stealing them."

Jensen just continued to stare at everything in awe. "Wow."

"A cookie-stealing parrot wows you?" JD asked, clearly amused.

"What? No. It's just... I've wanted to meet an actual shifter for such a long time, it's kind of...I dunno, overwhelming?"

JD nodded. "I can see that."

Jensen looked back at the stables. Four of the stalls had been clearly used but there was only one horse. "So, uh...you mentioned birds and Dr. Krushnic. I mean, Misha. Dr. Misha? The...well, the parrot."

JD grinned. "Yeah?"

"So, are these the only shifters here right now?" Jensen pointed at the stables. "What about the other horses?"

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" JD scratched his scruff contemplatively. "You're right, we're currently housing three horse shifters. They're probably galloping around on the back pastures." He gestured vaguely past the ranch house. "There are a few more guests around here somewhere. Why?"

Jensen shrugged. "Just curious." He thought for a long moment. "What's the most unusual animal you have here?"

JD gave him a stern look. "They're shifters, not animals," he lectured, and Jensen had the decency to blush and mumble an apology. Obviously pleased by the chastened look on Jensen's face, JD cracked a small smile. "I'd say the ant eater." JD grinned. "My guests are an eclectic group, and some of the most unusual aren't even here at the moment."

Jensen's eyes widened. "More unusual than an ant eater?"

JD shrugged. "It depends on your definition of unusual, I guess, but it's definitely not every day you have an elephant or a giraffe traipsing around your backyard. During the winter, we sometimes get visits from a polar bear."

"Wow." Jensen looked around. "How many people work here? It must be really difficult to help you keep the place running."

"Well, including you, two."

Jensen stared in disbelief. "What?"

"Most of the guests stay shifted and just enjoy the freedom of being themselves. I hardly ever see them, to be honest. We have a few who shift back to human form regularly because it's too difficult to feed them in animal form. But other than that, they roam around while they're here. So, not a lot of cooking, almost no guest rooms to keep clean. Mucking out stables doesn't count." JD grinned.

"That makes sense, I guess."

"It's easy when you have a snake shifter visiting. They eat once a week in snake form and spend the rest of their vacation here slithering around and enjoying life."

Jensen looked around nervously. "You didn't mention any snakes."

"There aren't any around at the moment, relax. Besides, none of my guests are dangerous. Just because they're in shifter form doesn't mean they're mindless animals." JD pointed at the book in Jensen's hand. "Should be mentioned in there somewhere."

"It is," Jensen admitted. "It's just that I'm scared of snakes."

JD chuckled. "Okay, got it. Must've been fun for you growing up, Texas Boy. How do you feel about tigers?"

Jensen's eyes widened in alarm.

"One of them is scheduled to arrive today." JD looked up when he saw someone step out of the main building. "Hey, Jim. Has Mark arrived yet?"

"Which one, Sheppard or Pellegrino?"

At that moment, a deep growl from behind them made Jensen jump. A huge tiger walked up next to him, gave him a curious glance and then rubbed his head against JD's thigh.

JD chuckled again and rubbed the tiger's big head. "Pellegrino," he said to Jim. "And I see he has arrived." The tiger began to purr loudly and closed his eyes, pushing his head demandingly into the petting head. "Well, hello again, big guy. Good to see you again. Been a while, huh?"

The tiger growled in agreement.

"Okay, you mosey on and chase some butterflies or something. I'm sure Jim bought enough raw meat to feed you tonight."

The tiger gave Jim a warning snarl and a swish with his tail. Jim responded by flipping him the bird.

"Idjit, you know damn well nobody's goin' hungry on my watch."

Apparently pleased with the answer, the tiger gave JD one last head butt that almost sent the man sprawling and then sauntered off.

Jensen continued to stand stock-still, staring after the tiger.

"So, that was Mark. He's a big softie, one of our favorite guests," JD said.

"And who's the scrawny kid?" Jim asked, nodding at Jensen.

"Manners, Beaver," JD rebuked gently. "Jensen, this is the other person who is helping around here, Jim Beaver. I couldn't do it without him. Jim's the cook, the handyman and doctor on call."

"I ain't an actual doctor."

"No, but you know more about shifter physiology than most actual doctors, so shut up." JD clapped a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Jim, this is Jensen. Jensen Ackles. He's gonna stay here for a few days. I figure we could use a helping hand. What do you think?"

Jim looked less than impressed but finally just shrugged. "What's he supposed to help with?"

"Well, he did a pretty good job mucking out the stables."

Jim's eyes widened in alarm. "The stables?"

JD shot him a warning look that confused Jensen. What was supposed to be so special about the stables? "Yes, the stables. Okay, Jensen, why don't you go inside and get something to drink. Second door to the left is the kitchen. Just grab whatever you want from the fridge, okay? I'll be with you in a sec and show you your room where you can take a shower."

"Awesome, thank you." Jensen was already halfway through the open front door when he remembered his manners. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Beaver."

"Call me Jim, kid. I ain't no mister."

"Yes, sir." Jensen fled inside, luxuriating in the cool air and thanking every deity for the invention of A/C. He was about to walk into the kitchen and out of earshot when he heard Jim ask,

"Seriously, JD? Some new kid? A complete stranger? And you let him near the stables?"

Jensen stopped in his tracks and cocked his head. He knew eavesdropping was bad, but there was clearly something going on in the stables and he had to find out what.

"I didn't let him into the back stables, Jim. I'm not stupid."

"Yeah, but what if he heard somethin' and went to investigate?"

"There's nothing to hear."

Jim snorted. "Right."

"Jared's nocturnal. He's currently sleeping. Unless he starts to snore, nobody's going to hear him."

"Still dangerous. That was a stupid move, Morgan."

"I had a damn good reason for it, Beaver."

Jensen was dying to find out what that reason was, but he heard the men entering the main building and quickly ducked into the kitchen.

Screw JD's reason for letting him muck out the stables. The more important thing was that there was apparently a hidden back behind the stables. With some nocturnal animal called Jared living there?

He definitely had to find out what that could possibly be.

Jensen loved the Three Claws resort.

He couldn't really explain why, but he felt right at home. The very second he had set foot on the property, he felt safe. It seemed as if he had been searching for this one place all of his life -- at least since he knew he was a shifter. He was one of many here, not a freak, an outcast. Of course nobody actually knew he was a shifter -- he had never told anyone about that one fateful night when he had woken up as a young deer, a _fawn_ , of all animals -- but he had always worried that something would make him shift again and he would be exposed, found out, ostracized. If he would shift now, here, nobody would care either way, and that was not only reassuring, it was freeing.

Which didn't mean he wanted to share his secret just now, of course.

Then again, he hadn't had an actual opportunity to show his shifting abilities to anyone just yet. Right after grabbing a quick snack and something to drink from the kitchen, JD showed him to a small but cozy room that would be his for the time being. It really wasn't anything fancy, but it had a comfortable bed and a small en-suite bathroom, so Jensen undressed in record time, took a very long and very hot shower and then face-planted into the mattress. He promptly fell asleep even though it was only late afternoon and woke up fifteen hours later.

For the first couple of seconds, he felt disoriented and tried to figure out where he was and how he got there. Then everything came flooding back and he smiled. That sense of security, of belonging, enveloped him, and he took a deep, relaxing breath. Things were finally looking up for him.

First order of business was finding some food. Jensen rummaged around in his backpack and found the last pair of clean underwear and socks. He would have to make do with the dirty jeans and tee shirt from the day before for now. Hopefully, JD or Jim would allow him to use their washing machine. A resort this size had to have a laundry room of some kind, hadn't it?

It took Jensen a moment to remember where the kitchen was, and then went straight there. To his surprise, he found Jim washing dishes.

"Uh, good morning?" he said hesitantly, still not entirely sure where he stood with the older man.

Jim looked up and chuckled. "Mornin', sleepyhead. Was goin' to check up on ya in a few."

Jensen looked surprised. "What? Why?"

"Well, 'cause you've been awfully busy sleepin' the day away." Jim nodded at the kitchen clock. It was past nine in the morning.

"Oh." Jensen blushed, embarrassed. "Guess I was more exhausted than I thought. Sorry."

"No reason to apologize. You hungry? There's some left-over toast on the counter and hot coffee in the pot over there. Want me to whip up some bacon and eggs?"

As if on cue, Jensen's stomach growled loudly. "That would be awesome, thank you. But only if it's not too much trouble."

Jim shrugged. "Cooking's one of my duties here, kid," he said, walking over to the stove and turning it on. He grabbed some ingredients from the fridge. "You kinda disappointed a bunch of folks, you know?"

Jensen raised an eyebrow over a steaming cup of coffee. "Oh? How so?"

"Well, a couple of our guests showed up for dinner last night. They clearly wanted to meet you in person. Same thing this morning for breakfast."

Jensen's face fell. He couldn't wait to interact with actual shifters, talk to them, find out how they ticked. "Oh."

Jim made a throwing away gesture. "Pretty sure they'll be back tonight," he said, chuckling. "And a whole bunch more."

"What do you mean?"

"Well." Jim scratched his beard. "See, thing is, Misha's a damn blabber-mouth. Last night he and Mark and Felicia came to dinner. Felicia's our only scheduled dinner guest 'cause her animal form is a red panda and we can't feed her regularly, what with pandas only eating bamboo. But Misha's a parrot and Mark's a tiger -- you met him yesterday, remember?" When Jensen nodded, Jim continued, "They can provide for themselves in animal form just fine. Most shifters prefer to stay in animal form anyway. So it's unusual that they show up in human form to have dinner here unless there's some kind of really good reason."

"Like me?" Jensen asked doubtfully.

Jim grinned. "Like you," he agreed. "This morning, Tahmoh showed up as well. I'm sure Misha told him all about you last night. So, expect even more guests to show up tonight." He pointed a spatula at Jensen. "So you'd better be here with bells on. Preferably awake."

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Jensen managed to nod. "I...I'll try."

"Good." Jim finished cooking and brought a plate filled with bacon and eggs to Jensen. "You any good in the kitchen?"

Jensen frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Well, you gotta earn your keep somehow, kid. Didn't I just mention the huge dinner party tonight? I usually cook for JD 'n me plus the occasional guest or two. Gonna be pretty busy prepping food for a dozen folks or more."

"That many shifters?" Jensen asked, his voice squeaking suspiciously.

"Damn if I know. They're supposed to tell me or JD beforehand so we can prepare but I figure extenuating circumstances and all, they'll just come a-runnin' from the lake and the hills."

Jensen stared, at a loss for words. Finally, he managed, "I make a mean chili."

"Sounds good. You're hired."

Jensen nodded. "Glad to help. So, uh, until then? Is there anything else I can do?" He shoved the last of the bacon into his mouth and chewed happily. "I could muck out the stables again if you want."

"Oh, there's no need for that."

Jensen's face fell. If he had no good excuse to be in the stables, how was he supposed to snoop around in the back of it? "What? Why?"

"Well, we hardly ever use the stables. There was a freak thunderstorm the night before last and all horses -- real and shifter -- spent the night in the stables, just to be on the safe side. That's pretty much the only reason why there was any muckin' out to do. The shifters usually run wild and JD's old hack stays in the corral." Jim shrugged. "It was a really nasty storm though. We had everyone who couldn't find shelter in their animal form spent the night right here." He waved vaguely at the ranch house they were in. "Which reminds me, there's some laundry to do. Bedding and towels from the guest rooms. You could help with that."

"Sure." Jensen nodded agreeably, his mind going a mile a minute. There were so many questions he wanted to ask about shifters and their safety, but he knew now was not the time. "Oh, would you mind if I added some of my clothes to the laundry? I kinda ran out of fresh clothes to wear."

"Sure thing, kid. You finished eating? Then let me show ya to the laundry room. If you get hungry later, just grab whatever you want from the kitchen, okay?"

"Okay. Great, thanks." Jensen quickly rinsed his plate and cup and then followed Jim down a short hallway to the laundry room. "When I'm done here, what do you want me to do next?"

"I gotta go on a grocery run for tonight. You can tag along if you like. There are a couple of guest rooms we gotta get ready for new guests tomorrow. I gotta fix a clogged up toilet in another guest room. Before you know it, we gotta get dinner ready."

"Wow. Sounds like we'll be busy. Where's JD? Maybe I can help him too."

"Oh, he's out all day doin' a perimeter check. The resort is huge and he checks it regularly, makes sure everything's in good order. Fences need mending, wood needs to be chopped -- something else you can help with today -- trespassers need to be shot." At Jensen's shocked gasp, Jim grinned. "Just kiddin'. He only wounds 'em. Seriously though, it's not a big problem but sometimes we get folks on the premises we don't want here. He makes sure they stay away. Today he's also checkin' if there are enough ant hills around for our guest who shifts into an ant eater. Mitch prefers to stay shifted but he can't if there aren't enough ants to eat. Same thing with other shifters and their specific diet. JD and I take turns checking on the wildlife and if there's enough around for food."

The questions were multiplying in Jensen's head by the second. He couldn't wait to sit down with JD -- or, better yet, Dr. Krushnic -- and ask them about all aspects of shifter life.

For now, though, he had a huge pile of dirty laundry to tackle.

"You come find me when you're done here, okay? We'll run into town and go grocery shopping."

Jensen nodded, grinning. Dirty laundry. Grocery shopping. Clogged up toilets. While surrounded by shifters.

He loved his life.

Dinner was slightly overwhelming but Jensen wouldn't have missed it for the world.

He was busy chopping onions in the kitchen when he saw three horses galloping toward the main house, a beautiful, muscled black horse and two brown ones that were smaller than the black one.

"Oh great, the three stooges are here," Jim commented.

Jensen frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jim scratched his chin. "That's Rob, Rich and Matt. They're inseparable. Best friends since forever. Great guys but a bunch of jokesters, so be warned. Nothing is too cheap for them as long as they can make a joke out of it."

Jensen watched the horses trot around the corner toward the stables. "Okay," he said slowly. "Do you think they'll need help?"

"Nah. They got their clothes back at the stables and there's a shower. They'll be fine."

Jensen's face fell a little. Another attempt to sneak into the stables thwarted.

"Figured they'd show up. Misha, Felicia and Mark are a given, too. Tahmoh might be back as well. Anyone else is fair game, so be warned."

Jensen just nodded and began to stir his chili.

As it turned out, even more guests showed up, curious to meet the scrawny kid who had somehow managed to convince JD to let him stay at this secret sanctuary. Jensen was sure that he had forgotten half of everyone's names again, though he was pleased to remember one important tidbit of information.

When an older, balding man with quite an impressive physique walked up to him and introduced himself as Mitch, Jensen immediately blurted out, "You're the ant eater."

Everyone had a good chuckle at that, even though JD gently smacked the back of Jensen's head. "Respect your shifters," he admonished, a twinkle in his eye. "You never know how dangerous an animal form can truly be."

Jensen nodded earnestly and gave the tallest man in the room a quick glance. This man was easily six-five and built like a brick shit house. Jensen couldn't for the life of him recall the man's name but he did remember his animal form. "You're really an owl?" he asked. When the man nodded with a smile, Jensen just spread his arms wide. "But...how?"

"The size of the human does not define the size of the animal, Jensen," JD explained calmly. "You would think that Tahmoh here would shift into a giraffe or a whale or some other gigantic animal, but he just...doesn't." He shrugged. "One of our smallest guests shifts into a crocodile. And trust me, Ruthie is really petite. She'd probably fit into her animal form at least four or five times."

"So...nobody has any influence on what they turn into?" Jensen asked curiously, shoving a spoonful of chili into his mouth. He startled when a chunk of bread bounced off his head.

"Have you learned nothing from reading my book?" Misha asked from across the table, brandishing more bread. "You're born with your shifter self the same way your eye or hair color or your height is predestined by your DNA."

Jensen quickly held up his hands to ward off any more bread attacks. "No, no. I did read your book and I learned a lot from it. It's just...it seems so weird. If you have this awesome gift of being able to shift, wouldn't it be neat to be able to shift into anything you like?"

"But that's not how it works, kid," Jim said.

"You don't think being an owl is cool?" Tahmoh asked, though it sounded more like a statement. The man was very soft-spoken and seemed like a gentle giant, but Jensen was still pretty intimidated by his sheer size.

"It's not that," he wheedled. "It's just..." He trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Or ant-eater," Mitch called from the other end of the table, a twinkle in his eye. "What a boring, silly looking animal."

"Well, you do have to admit that it's one of the most ridiculous looking animals on this planet," one of the Rob-Rich-Matt trio shot back with a grin. Jensen couldn't keep them apart though he seemed to remember that Matt was the good looking, dark-haired, ripped one. He had definitely been the black horse. So it was either Rob or Rich needling Mitch, which was a seriously stupid thing to do in Jensen's mind. Mitch might be in his fifties, but the guy looked fit and could probably take both Rob and Rich at the same time. With one arm tied behind his back. Without breaking a sweat.

Mitch, however, just laughed. "True enough," he agreed. "But I wear my silly look with pride and dignity."

"If anyone could turn into whatever they want, there'd be a lot more wolves," a female guest said. Jensen thought for a long moment and then remembered her name was Briana. She had the most gorgeous mane of golden locks.

"You're only saying that because you _are_ a wolf," the other one of the Rob-and-Rich duo shot back. "Wolves are so Twilight."

Briana snorted. "Yeah, most humans still think of us shifters as freaks but that's closely followed by the misconception of us shifters being werewolves. Idiots. We're not weres, we're shifters. As if I'm howling at the moon at midnight or something." She smirked. "I have way more important things to do at night."

"Amen, sister," the woman next to Briana said. She grinned and stole a quick kiss that was anything but innocent.

"Aww Kim," Briana mumbled against the other woman's lips.

"Eww, wolf porn," Rob-or-Rich exclaimed with an exaggerated nose wrinkle. "Get a room. Or a forest."

Jensen just continued to watch and listen, completely mesmerized and enthralled. He was learning so much just from sitting among a group of shifters who so generously and freely talked about their lives that he felt as if his head would explode any second.

He had the best time of his life and wouldn't trade any of this for the world.

The next week went much the same way.

Jensen helped out wherever JD or Jim needed him, cleaning or chopping wood, running errands and helping out in the kitchen. The guests spent most dinners in human form at the main house to interact with him. For some reason, they seemed completely enamored with Jensen, and he was thrilled he got to spend so much time with shifters, asking them questions and finding out more about their life.

Jim wasn't too happy about this. "If we don't see our guests during their stay, we're doin' our job right," he muttered one evening while he was preparing food for a dozen people. "Shifters stay in their animal form if at all possible. It's better for 'em. More relaxing. More natural."

"Guess they can't resist my charm," Jensen shot back with a grin. "Or my amazing skills at the barbecue."

Jim had to chuckle at that. "True." Once they had found out that Jensen was a master with open fire and meat, everyone was raving about the food and demanded grilled goods every evening.

Unfortunately, Jensen had to say good-bye to a few guests whose vacation was over. Tahmoh, Felicia and Mitch left a few days after Jensen had arrived. In their stead, a couple of new guests came. Another Mark, a British fellow whose animal form was the most frightening giant bat Jensen had ever seen. Mark took great delight in hiding in Jensen's room and then scaring the living daylights out of him. There was also an ostrich named Osric, which Jensen found funnier than he probably should.

The three horse shifters managed to prank him several times -- both in human and animal form, much to Jensen's chagrin and everyone else's amusement.

Everything was going perfectly fine, but Jensen kept getting antsier with every day. A week had already passed, and JD had told him in the beginning that he would be allowed to stay "a couple of days". Not that Jensen wanted to leave, but it was only a matter of time before JD would kick him out and every additional day he was allowed to spend at Three Claws would make saying good-bye harder.

Finally, Jensen bit the bullet and outright asked JD.

They had just finished eating breakfast and JD was crossing the courtyard when Jensen caught up with him.

"Hey, JD. Got a minute?"

JD raised a surprised eyebrow. "Sure. What's up?"

Suddenly tongue-tied, Jensen cleared his throat. Twice. "It's just... Well, I was wondering when...uh...when I'd have to leave again." He grimaced at the mere thought.

The eyebrow rose higher. "Why? You got anywhere you gotta be?"

"What? No. No, not at all." Jensen shook his head. "It's just that you told me..." He trailed off, not able to actually say the words.

"Listen, kid. You like it here?"

Jensen immediately nodded. "A lot."

"You wanna stay here?"

Jensen nodded again. "Of course."

"Well, you're working hard and you're doing a good job. Everyone likes you. Why the hell would we want to get rid of you." JD snorted at the absurdity of the idea. "So, you wanna join me checking the perimeter or what?"

Jensen thought his face would split in two, the way he was grinning. "You bet!"

JD's horse was an old mare, but she managed to carry them both through the forest. Jensen liked sitting in front of JD, liked the way JD's arms were wrapped loosely around him. He could feel the heat from the other man's body and even dared to lean back a little, relaxing against the strong chest.

"I had no idea the property was so big," he finally said after they had ridden in companionable silence for easily half an hour.

"Oh, we're not even close to the border," JD replied with a chuckle. "I figured I'd take the scenic route and show you a bit of the forest and circle back around the lake on the way back."

"Awesome." Jensen kept looking around, trying to take everything in. There were a lot of small animals, birds and squirrels and even a couple of foxes, and he began to wonder how many of JD's guests he had never actually met.

JD seemed to read his mind though. "None of them are shifters, Jensen. They're just animals."

"Oh." Jensen wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or not. He wanted to meet as many shifters as possible, after all.

At that moment, they came across a small hill and saw two wolves frolicking around on top of it as if they were a couple of excited pups. Jensen immediately perked up.

"Briana and Kim!" he exclaimed, sitting up and waving.

The wolves stopped playing and looked up. One of the wolves -- Briana, Jensen thought -- threw her head back and howled as if it was full moon. Jensen chuckled. The whole werewolf versus shifter debate had turned into a running joke between them.

"Let's leave them be," JD suggested. "It's their last day here so they should be able to make the most of it. I doubt they'll come to dinner tonight so don't be disappointed, okay? It'll do them good to hunt as wolves on their last night here."

Jensen felt sucker-punched. "Oh," he said softly. "Okay, I understand." He thought about that for a long moment. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"I don't know. Can you?" JD shot back with a grin.

Jensen gave him a mock scowl. "Seriously though, when they're wolves, they hunt small animals, right? They kill them and eat them."

"That's how it usually works, yeah."

"Okay, but...what happens when it's another shifter?"

"What do you mean?"

Jensen scratched his chin. "Well, what if one of the foxes is actually a shifter but Briana is hungry and hunts the fox and kills it. Or Tahmoh -- owls eat mice. Jim told me you have a regular guest who shifts into a mouse. What if Tahmoh accidentally eats that guest?"

"Ah." JD chuckled. "Well, that won't happen. See, shifters can sense each other. They would never hurt another shifter."

Jensen immediately twisted around, almost falling off the horse. He looked at JD, alarmed. "What do you mean, they can sense each other? Like, if they run into another shifter, they immediately know it's someone who can shift into an animal?" What if everyone already knew about his deer persona? Nobody had said anything to him, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Did it?

JD shook his head. "Not in human form normally, no. Just in animal form. They can just sense if it's a normal animal or a shifter. So, in your example, Tahmoh might hunt and kill a dozen mice but he would never hurt DJ."

"Oh." Jensen relaxed again, at least slightly.

"So it's actually safer to run into another shifter while you're both in animal form. While shifter brains work on a baser level while in animal form, they still retain some human brain functions. They can communicate with you on some basic level. So, even though they can't talk to you, they can still express certain thoughts or feelings, much better than an actual animal."

Jensen nodded slowly. "Unless you're Misha, then you just keep babbling that you want more cookies." They both chuckled.

"Yeah. But by and large, a shifter in animal form _is_ basically an animal and acts like it. If Mark ran into some unsuspecting human while in tiger form, he might actually attack and kill that human, or at least seriously hurt and maim them. He wouldn't do that to another shifter in animal form or to another shifter in human form, provided he already knows them."

Jensen thought about that for a long moment. "Is that why you were all for the big dinners and encouraged everyone to show up?"

JD grinned. "It didn't take much encouraging, trust me. They were all curious as hell about you. But yeah, I wanted them to get to know you, scent you. Now you're pretty safe from anyone, no matter how wild or dangerous the animal form is."

"Sneaky bastard," Jensen muttered admiringly under his breath.

"What was that?" JD growled into his ear in a clear mock-threat. He wrapped one arm around Jensen and squeezed tight, holding him close to his chest, and gave his horse a kick. The old mare jumped and then shot forward, almost tossing both riders off. Jensen shrieked in shock while JD cackled evilly.

This is my life now, Jensen thought wondrously to himself the following night. It had been difficult, saying good-bye to Briana and Kim, but now that he knew he would be allowed to stay at Three Claws for as long as he wanted, they could promise to see each other again in future, and that made him very happy.

Things were really going well for him. He really couldn't complain. The only thing that irked him was that he still hadn't managed to find the secret back room of the stables or meet the mysterious, nocturnal creature named Jared living there. Since nobody ever mentioned this Jared in his presence -- he had actually only heard about him this one time, right after he had arrived at Three Claws and he had accidentally eavesdropped on JD and Jim -- Jensen didn't dare to actually ask anyone about Jared. He was half-convinced that he had misheard that day and there was nobody hiding behind the stables.

At least he hadn't been successful in finding anything resembling a secret room in or near the stables. He had snuck in there a few times and inspected every nook and cranny, but other than a tack room in the back, there were only solid walls.

His obsession with the mysterious Jared was waning fast. Instead, he began to focus on his own mystery. He had shifted only once in his entire life, and that had been by pure accident. Even though he had no idea how to shift on purpose, he was convinced that this sort of thing had to happen without rhyme or reason occasionally -- especially in the beginning, when you still tried to figure out how to handle the whole shifting thing. He always imagined people shifting when they got highly emotional, angry or upset or maybe even happy, but nothing like that had happened to him. Jensen was already doubting his sanity and had managed to half-convince himself that he had only imagined shifting into a small deer, a fawn.

And really. A fawn. Like he would be a _fawn_ of all animals.

Still, if there was one place that was safe and secluded enough to experiment, it was Three Claws. And so Jensen finally decided to give this shifting business another try. Now that he knew he wouldn't be in any danger from the other guests in animal form, should he manage to actually shift, he figured it was as good a time as any to get reacquainted with his animal self.

They had come across a beautiful, picturesque clearing in the forest the other day. It was only about a mile away from the ranch house and easily within walking distance. Jensen figured it was the perfect place to try shifting. A secluded, safe area where nobody would accidentally run into him but at the same time, he would be in the middle of the forest in case he did manage to shift into a deer.

Jensen slowly made his way toward the clearing, trying to remember the way even though the forest looked so much different in the dark. He finally came across the one landmark he had been looking for: a large, tree stump with three claw-like slashes on it that reminded him of the small boulder near the main road and the sign at the entrance of the resort. He knew he would find the clearing about a hundred feet straight ahead.

Smiling happily to himself, he picked up his pace and rushed toward the clearing. He would be able to shift -- or try to, at least -- and he'd be safe and secure there but would have enough room to run around without stumbling into any trees on his spindly deer-legs.

He was almost at his destination when he suddenly saw a strange glowing coming from the clearing. It almost seemed otherworldly, ethereal, with soft tendrils of pale shimmering fog wafting toward Jensen, as if beckoning him closer.

Not sure what to do, but too curious not to investigate, Jensen walked closer still until he stood at the edge of the clearing.

There was an animal standing in the middle of the clearing, prancing a little on the spot.

It looked like a horse, but it was pink, and pink horses didn't exist, did they?

The presumed horse turned its head to look at Jensen and gave a friendly whinny, but Jensen just stared in complete shock at the pointed wand-like thing protruding from the forehead.

A unicorn.

A freaking pink unicorn.

Jensen shrieked in panic and stumbled backwards. His heel caught on a root and he fell backwards, landing hard on his ass and hitting his head on a nearby tree.

The unicorn came closer, whinnying inquiringly, a worried look on its face. All Jensen could see, though, was the sharp tip of the horn advancing on him. He screamed again, scrambled to his feet and ran for his life, hoping in the back of his mind that he remembered the way to the ranch house.

When he got up the next morning, Jensen was convinced that he had either dreamed or hallucinated everything about the ridiculous pink unicorn -- despite the pounding headache and the sizeable bump on the back of his head.

As he was getting ready to face the day, he heard three horses gallop into the courtyard and smiled at the thought of spending time with his friends. Then his face fell when he remembered that Rob, Rich and Matt were going to leave the ranch later the same day.

Jensen was surprised that nobody was sitting in the dining room when he went in there. He figured the three horse shifters as well as Kim and Briana -- who would also leave in a few hours -- would be there to spend some time with their friends.

"Lookin' disappointed there, kid," Jim said as Jensen came into the kitchen.

"Where is everybody?"

"Ah." Jim nodded knowingly. "Well, the girls'll spend as much time in the woods as possible 'till they gotta leave. They're tryin' to make the most of it, ya know? They only ever come here once a year."

Jensen nodded slowly. He could understand that.

"And the three stooges? They're probably waitin' outside for their traditional spa day." Jim chuckled to himself.

"What?" Jensen frowned in confusion.

Before Jim could reply, the kitchen door flew open and JD strode in. "There you are," he said to Jensen. "Was looking for you. Got anything specific planned for today?"

"Uh...no. Why?"

"Figured you'd like to spend some quality time with your friends before they have to leave." JD grinned and motioned Jensen to follow him. Jensen quickly grabbed a couple of slices of dry toast and then ran after JD who was leading him into the courtyard. "You're pretty good with horses, right? I've seen you take care of my old girl."

Jensen shrugged. "I grew up in Texas. I know my way around horses."

"Right. See, thing is, the boys like to spend their last day here being pampered." When Jensen's eyes widened in alarm, JD chuckled and added, "As horses, kid. Being groomed, having their mane and tail brushed, that sort of thing."

"Oh." Jensen blinked. "I see."

"Think you're up to the challenge?"

Jensen thought for a long moment. "Well, sure. I mean, I can try." Granted, he hadn't actually groomed any horses in his life yet, but he had always taken care of his pets, and how much difference could there be between grooming a horse and brushing a dog? He had also always braided his little sister's hair at her insistence, so he would surely have a knack for braiding manes and tails, right? Buffing hooves would be like buffing shoes, Jensen figured. Just buff 'em till they were black and shiny. No problem.

So how hard could it be to take care of his three friends?

As it turned out, it was a lot more complicated than he had thought.

Or, at least, they didn't behave as Jensen had expected.

All three horses were pleased and excited when they saw that Jensen was going to take care of them, and Rich nuzzled and nibbled his way into Jensen's heart -- and kept pushing in front of the other two horses -- until Jensen relented and groomed him first.

It was difficult enough to groom Rich while he was prancing on the spot and tossing his head, whinnying loudly as if telling everyone jokes, but in the end Jensen prevailed.

Just as he was half-way done taking care of Rob, however, he heard a dull thud behind him and when he turned around to see what was going on, he realized that Rich was lying on the ground, wiggling around happily.

"Seriously?" Jensen exclaimed, seeing how clouds of dust rose up from the ground. "Are you kidding me?"

Both Matt and Rob were neighing hysterically and stomping their hooves. Jensen realized they were laughing at him.

He glared at Rich, who was no longer wiggling but actually rolling around in the dirt by now. "You're taking a sand bath now? _Now?_ After I groomed you?" His voice rose higher and higher with every word.

Rich stopped moving and just lay on his back, all four legs in the air. He turned his head toward Jensen and gave a happy little whinny.

Jensen narrowed his eyes at the horse and then looked at Rich's genitals. "I think it's time someone got gelded," he muttered threateningly, slamming the two curry brushes in his hands together meaningfully.

Rich snorted in alarm and got back on all fours in record time, turning his behind as far away from Jensen as possible. He shook himself as best he could, clouding himself in more dust.

Rob and Matt were all but howling with laughter.

At that moment, JD came strolling out of the main building, looked at the stand-off and began to laugh. "Oh, he tricked you into grooming him first?" he asked Jensen. "I'm sorry, I should've warned you." He walked over, slapped Rich's flank and mock-scolded, "Bad horsey."

Rich whinnied softly and nuzzled JD's neck apologetically.

"Hey, I'm not the one you screwed over," JD said with a chuckle, pushing the horse away. He watched Rich trotting over to Jensen, clearly trying to act remorseful, though the glint of mischief in the horse's eyes was still there.

Jensen was having none of it. "Bad horsey indeed," he said, holding up the curry brushes threateningly again. He sniffed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have Rob waiting for me to finish grooming him and Matt already requested extra care with a pedicure and a braided tail. Not sure I'll have time to groom you again."

JD grinned, pleased to see that the kid could hold his own. He patted Rich's neck and then strode into the stables.

Jensen watched the older man go and wondered, for what felt like the millionth time, what could possibly be so special in there. He still hadn't forgotten the talk between JD and Jim he had overheard on his first day here, and he had sneaked into the stables more than once to try and find out what the big secret was, but he had always come up empty. He also hadn't heard anyone mention this mysterious Jared again.

His thoughts were interrupted by Rich nuzzling his neck in apology. He giggled softly when the horse hit a ticklish spot, pushed Rich away and went back to grooming Rob.

Jensen couldn't believe how much it hurt, having to say good-bye to his newly found friends. While there were promises to see each other again, Jensen had no clue how long he would actually stay at Three Claws.

With the horses and the wolves gone, the ranch was suddenly a quiet place. The few remaining guests were frolicking around somewhere in their animal form, enjoying the freedom Three Claws offered to shifters. Even Mark, the bat, had flown off. At least he wasn't hiding in Jensen's room anymore when Jensen entered it after seeing his friends off.

Misha, of course, was always lurking around somewhere, but he was a semi-permanent resident at Three Claws anyway.

Jensen knew it was ridiculous to go to bed this early -- it was barely seven -- but somehow he didn't feel like socializing. He wanted to remember the good times with his horse and wolf friends and maybe thumb through Misha's book again, find something new to discuss with the man the next time he shifted out of his animal form.

The sudden knock on the door surprised Jensen.

He frowned but went to open the door, looking curiously at JD. "Is anything wrong?"

"What? No. No, don't worry, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if you're tired. I mean, you said you'd go to bed but it's still early and..." JD shrugged.

Jensen looked embarrassed. "I'm not tired, I'm just a little bummed," he admitted. "I miss everyone."

JD smiled at that. "Aww, kid. They'll be back," he said, pulling Jensen into a quick hug. "So, you up for a little adventure?"

Interest piqued, Jensen nodded. "Always." Whatever it was, it would hopefully distract him from his morose thoughts.

"Great. Follow me."

JD turned on his heel and strode down the long hallway, toward the main entrance. Jensen hastened to catch up and finally managed to do so half-way across the courtyard. They were heading toward the stables. His interest piqued even more.

They entered the stables, walked to the tack room at the far end and entered that one as well. JD closed the door behind them firmly. Jensen had been in there before, looking for any clues about the secret that was supposedly kept here. He looked around curiously, trying to figure out what was going on.

JD turned around and suddenly grabbed Jensen's shoulders, shaking him gently. "This is very important," he implored. "You cannot, under any circumstances, tell anyone about this."

Jensen's eyes widened. "Tell them about what?" he asked, looking around. "The tack room?"

"No." JD sighed and shook his head. "About what you'll see in a minute. I'm serious, Jensen."

"Oh...okay?" Jensen swallowed nervously. JD's imploring stare was intimidating.

"I'm taking a huge leap of faith here," JD continued, his fingers digging into Jensen's shoulders. "There are only a very few selected people who know about this."

"How very few are we talking about?" Jensen asked curiously.

"Besides me, only Jim and Mish. And now you."

Jensen's eyes widened in alarm. This was definitely "very few selected" and he had no clue why he -- still a newcomer, still almost a virtual stranger -- would be welcomed into this exclusive group of people.

"I'm doing this against my better judgment but I was asked to share this information with you."

"By whom?"

Instead of answering, JD continued, "I do trust you, kid, and I'm sure you'll honor our agreement. But just in case there's any doubt in your mind, I will _not_ take it kindly if I find out you'll ever breathe anything about this to a soul. Neither will Jim. Or Mish, for that matter."

Jensen could only nod stupidly. "I won't. I mean, I will. Honor the agreement. And not tell anyone anything." He frowned slightly. "Tell anyone what exactly?"

JD took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if trying to give himself a quick pep talk, and then walked over to a row of shelves at the far end. He reached up and turned a horseshoe that was hanging on the wall counter-clockwise. The shelves began to move to the side as if pushed by an invisible hand, revealing another room behind the tack room.

It was a pretty small room, maybe the size of two stalls, had four walls without windows and the floor was covered with straw.

In the middle of the room, curled up almost like a cat, looking adorable in its slumber, was the damn pink unicorn.

Jensen screamed and stumbled back into the tack room.

The unicorn raised its head at the noise, saw who were its visitors, and immediately scrambled to its feet, whinnying in greeting.

"Jensen, this is Jared."

Jensen stared in disbelief at the unicorn. Jared? The Jared that JD and Jim had talked about? _The_ Jared? "What?"

The unicorn -- Jared -- took a couple of steps closer but stopped when Jensen moved further away. Giving JD an inquiring little snuffle, the unicorn cocked its head at Jensen.

"Jared told me that he ran into you last night," JD said. "At his clearing."

Jensen just continued to stare. "What?"

"Okay, he told me that he saw a young man he had never seen before, and that could only be you. And he was adamant that I introduced you two. Which is why we're here." He turned to the unicorn. "Jared, is this the young man you saw?"

The unicorn nodded yes and gave a happy whinny.

JD shrugged. "So see? Figured it had to be you," he said to Jensen.

"What?"

"And really, this was just a stupid coincidence," JD continued. "Because certain unicorns had no business traipsing around last night." He glared at Jared.

The unicorn, in response, stomped his front hoof and tossed his head, looking heavenward.

Jensen looked up as well and saw that there was a skylight in the ceiling. Great, he thought. He could've searched the entire building a million times but unless he had climbed on the roof, he would've never found this secret room.

"I don't care whether or not it was new moon last night," JD said sternly, wagging a finger at the unicorn. "I told you there were guests roaming in the woods. It was too dangerous for you to run around outside, no matter how dark it was."

The unicorn stomped again and snorted derisively.

"No," JD said sternly. "No, Jared. We have an agreement. You stay here unless I tell you it's safe to go outside. And I told you explicitly you could go outside _tonight_. Not last night."

Jensen couldn't believe his eyes but the unicorn managed to pull off a look that was equal parts innocent child and kicked puppy.

JD threw his hands up in frustration. "Incorrigible," he muttered. "I just want you to be safe, Jared."

The unicorn whinnied softly, as if to say "I know" and then nibbled JD's shoulder in apology.

JD sighed and grabbed the unicorn's head. "I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you," he said fiercely, pressing his forehead against Jared's.

The unicorn nodded slightly, careful not to hurt JD with the horn, and then stepped back to give Jensen an inquisitive look.

"Unicorns don't exist," Jensen suddenly blurted out, feeling as if his brain was about to explode any second.

Jared clearly took offense to this statement because he stomped his hoof and tossed his head, snorting hot air into Jensen's face.

"I...I meant..." Jensen eyed the horn worriedly and took a careful step to hide behind JD. "I mean, I can see...uh, you. Him." He waved at Jared. "But...but I thought all shifters could only ever shift into an actual animal. And unicorns are...uh..." He trailed off, not sure how to finish this sentence without angering Jared again.

"Jared's not a shifter," JD said, reaching out to give the unicorn a good scratch under his chin.

Jensen blinked in confusion. "But then what is he?"

"Well, a unicorn, obviously." JD chuckled and Jared pranced on the spot, swishing his long tail through the air.

"No, I mean..." Jensen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what I mean," he finally admitted.

He suddenly felt something soft and velvety on his cheek and opened his eyes to see Jared nuzzling him gently. He slowly, carefully reached out to touch the unicorn's long neck. "Oh wow," he said, amazed.

"Soft, huh?" JD winked knowingly.

Jensen nodded. This didn't feel anything like a horse's coat. He carefully began to stroke along the neck and watched the unicorn's eyes close in obvious delight.

JD cleared his throat. "Long story short," he said. "A few weeks after I bought this land, I found Jared in the clearing where you two met last night. I was still in the process of scouting the land, mind you. There was no ranch yet or anything. Just me and the wilderness. And suddenly I see this pink unicorn, standing in the middle of the clearing, looking scared and confused." He reached out to pet Jared's nose lovingly. "I had no idea what was going on but he didn't seem to be a shifter. Just like you said, shifters turn into real animals."

"But if he's not a shifter, then what is he?" Jensen asked curiously. He couldn't take his eyes off the pink unicorn in front of him. He couldn't decide if Jared was a freak of nature or a miracle.

"As far as I can tell, he's cursed."

Jensen's head spun around. "What?"

JD shrugged. " He can't change back, no matter how hard he tries -- provided he knows how to change in the first place, of course. He seemed to trust me right from the start though so he followed me back to the little cabin I called home back then. I tried to figure out what had happened to him -- not that Jared was any help."

Jared blew hot air at JD and snorted, causing JD to chuckle.

"I know, big guy, I know. You don't remember much of anything from before." JD turned to Jensen. "We know that he's actually a human being; that much he remembered and told me. He also remembers waking up in the clearing but that's pretty much it."

"How do you know all this?" Jensen asked. "Can you, like, read minds?" His eyes widened. "Are you communicating telepathically?"

JD chuckled at that and even the unicorn seemed amused. "No. It's just that after several years together, we kind of have a short-hand for certain things. I know exactly what he means with a whinny or a snort. The rest is educated guessing." JD scratched around Jared's horn. "He remembered his name but couldn't tell me so I just recited the damn alphabet until we put the letters together. Asking specific questions that he can easily answer helps, too."

Jensen nodded slowly, trying to digest everything.

"I had no idea how to help him so I called my old friend, Jim." JD smiled at the unicorn. "Jared is actually the reason why Jim is working here now. He came here, trying to help me help Jared, and he just never left."

"Wow."

JD shrugged. "Then I contacted Misha. He's a shifter researcher, after all. I was hoping he had heard about anything like this." He indicated Jared who immediately shook his head. "That's right. Misha had never come across any kind of unicorn shifter. In the end, we all figured that Jared had to have been cursed."

"But...can you actually curse anyone? I mean, witches and wizards and stuff, isn't that just fantasy or old wives' tales?"

"Listen, kid, there are a lot of things out there that go bump in the night. Many people still believe shifters are nothing but folklore, even though the government officially acknowledges them. Do I believe in aliens? No. Do I believe in supernatural beings, from witches to ghosts? You bet."

Jensen nodded slowly. "Okay, then how do we break the curse?"

"If only we knew." JD looked crushed. "Jared's been with me for over ten years now and we still have no idea how to help him."

The unicorn immediately nuzzled the older man to show how much he appreciated and loved JD.

JD smiled sadly and stroked Jared's neck. "Since he's not a shifter, we're worried what might happen when he encounters any of our guests," he told Jensen. "Like last night, with Kim and Briana roaming the nearby woods. Like I told you, shifters recognize each other in animal form and don't hurt or attack each other, but they might attack a human and they definitely hurt and even kill actual animals. The first time Misha met Jared in his shifter form, he immediately shifted back to his human form, just to tell us that he can't sense him and that it was freaking him out. None of the horse shifters ever showed any indication that they sensed another shifter nearby either when they were housed in the stables so it's pretty obvious that shifters can't actually recognize him."

"Which is a curse and a blessing," Jensen said, nodding. Then he winced at the use of the word "curse". "Sorry," he mumbled. "What I mean is, he remains undetected but he's in potential danger from shifters."

"Exactly." JD smiled proudly at Jensen. "Which is why I explicitly told Jared to keep his pink behind right here last night." He glowered at the unicorn.

The unicorn glared back and stomped a hoof.

"But how did he get out of here if you didn't open the door?" Jensen asked curiously.

Jared whinnied at that and reared up. With the precision of a sharp shooter, he kicked one front hoof against the wall, high up above the opening to the tack room.

Jensen squeaked in panic when he saw the hoof slicing through the air close to his head, but then looked up to see that a matching horse shoe hung on the wall. Jared had hit it with his hoof.

"It's for emergencies only," JD explained with another glower at the unicorn. "Only Jim, Mish and I know how to open the door from the outside. If anything should ever happen to us, Jared needs to have a way to get out of here."

"That makes sense," Jensen said, nodding.

"Yeah. But only in cases of emergencies," JD pressed, continuing to glare at Jared.

The unicorn looked smug and danced on the spot.

"What if one of the wolves had found you?" JD asked in exasperation. "What if they had attacked you? Hurt you? _Killed you?_ We don't know what would happen if you ran into predators, Jared."

The unicorn whinnied and snorted rapid-fire, adding a couple of hoof stomps for good measure.

"I don't care how bored you were," JD exclaimed. "You do _not_ escape like that. I'm sorry that I didn't have much time for you lately. It's the busy season for us here at the moment, as you well know." He wrapped an arm around Jensen. "But I brought you a new play date so I hope you're happy now."

Jared immediately pranced on the spot and nodded his head.

JD looked at Jensen. "That is...if you want to take over the job of unicorn caretaker?"

"Are you kidding me?" Jensen exclaimed, grinning broadly. Now that the initial panic had subsided and he had heard Jared's story, he couldn't wait to get to know the unicorn even better. "This is awesome!"

As it turned out, JD was going to leave the ranch early the next morning for a few days to run some errands and check the outskirts of his land, so he was relieved to know that someone else would be around to take care of Jared.

"We only have a few guests here at the moment and they're all scattered in different parts of Three Claws," JD said. "As far as I know, nobody's anywhere near the forest though so feel free to run around and explore."

Jared almost did a somersault in reaction and whinnied excitedly.

"But only until the weekend," JD added with a stern wag of his finger. "That's when new guests arrive. Sorry, Jared." He stroked the unicorn's long neck apologetically.

"Well, in that case I'd say the sooner we get outside, the better," Jensen suggested. "What do you think, Jared? Want to spend the night in the forest?"

The unicorn whinnied again and nodded his head, pushing his way toward the exit.

"Hold on there, bronco," JD exclaimed, laughing. "Give Jensen a chance to pack some essentials first."

Jared immediately danced on the spot impatiently and gave Jensen a glare for not getting a move on already.

"I'm going, I'm going," Jensen said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. He jogged out of Jared's room and made a beeline for the ranch house, his mind going a mile a minute. He was wondering what he should pack -- food, clothes, his toothbrush obviously -- and how long they would be gone. Would there be a source of fresh water anywhere close? Shelter, in case of another freak thunderstorm? Did it get cold enough at night to warrant a blanket? What about a flashlight?

He stormed into the kitchen, trying to decide what food Jared might like, when Jim held up a large, partially packed picnic basket.

Jensen stared at it stupidly.

Jim chuckled. "Heard you'd be introduced to Jared. Figured you two would spend the night in the woods." He nodded at the basket. "I'm packing your favorites and Jared's, too. There'll be enough to last you till the morning after tomorrow though the way you two eat, I'd suggest comin' back for more provisions tomorrow already." He grinned knowingly.

Jensen just continued to stare.

"While I'm finishin' with the provisions, why don't you go to your room real quick and pack some stuff for yourself? Just the bare necessities. Toothbrush, change of clothes, that sorta thing. I'm sure Jared will want to stay at the clearing which ain't too far away from here so you can come back for anything else you might need without problems."

Jensen nodded stupidly, slightly overwhelmed by this turn of events. "Yeah. Okay. Sure."

"Well, git!" Jim said, laughing. He made a shooing motion with one hand. "Remember there's an impatient unicorn waitin' for ya."

That spurred Jensen into action and he raced into his room to pack his backpack. When he came running back into the kitchen five minutes later, Jim thrust the picnic basket at him. "There's a sleeping bag on the counter if you want it," he said, nodding at it. Jensen had packed a blanket but figured a sleeping bag would be even better. He quickly strapped it to his backpack and then grabbed the picnic basket.

"Thanks, Jim," he finally just said, still overwhelmed by everything. He turned around to walk out of the kitchen but then changed his mind and threw himself at Jim instead. He gave the older man a big hug. "You and JD are awesome," he mumbled, slightly embarrassed, before leaving the room at full speed. He could hear Jim's belly laugh all the way across the courtyard.

JD and Jared were waiting for him outside, in the shadows of the forest. The sun was just beginning to set.

"All right, you two. I expect you to be careful. If you hear any noises that might come from a shifter, you hide." JD gave them both a stern look. "Nobody should be around but just in case anyone decides to start roaming, you know a few safe places, Jared. Use them."

The unicorn dutifully nodded his head.

Jensen was curious what these safe places could be, but before he got the chance to ask, JD wagged a stern finger at him. "No fires in the woods," he said sternly. "You will not build any fires, not even in the clearing, not even a small one. It's too dangerous."

"Of course not." Jensen shook his head adamantly. He wouldn't have done anything stupid like that even without JD's lecture.

"Good. Jim packed a couple flashlights, just in case. If you want a hot meal, you get your ass back here and eat in the kitchen."

"No morning coffee will be tougher," Jensen quipped.

JD cracked a quick smile. "You can get that in the kitchen too." He clapped his hands. "Okay, you two. Get goin' before Jared implodes from pent-up energy."

The unicorn gave the equine equivalent of a whoop, jumped in the air and kicked his hind legs excitedly, and then ran into the woods.

Jensen stared after him for a long moment, sighed, and then mumbled, "Guess I'd better try to catch up to him, huh?"

"Good luck with that," JD said, laughing. "Be careful and take good care of each other, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Jensen flashed a bright smile. "Thank you again, JD." He heard an impatient whinny from farther away and rushed into the forest.

Jared was literally running circles around Jensen, constantly whinnying and snorting and making it clear that the young man was going way too slowly for his liking.

"Well, I'm sorry," Jensen finally said. "But I only have two legs and I'm the one carrying all of our stuff."

Jared stopped in front of Jensen and turned his head to nod at his back.

"What?"

Jared repeated the gesture.

It slowly began to dawn on Jensen. "You want me to ride you?" he asked, equal parts excited and terrified.

Jared nodded his head.

Jensen stared at the large animal in front of him and wondered how he was even supposed to climb on Jared's back.

Jared stomped one hoof impatiently and walked over to a fallen tree. Jensen could easily climb on top of it and then pull himself up on Jared's back even while holding the picnic basket in one hand.

"Holy shit, you're huge!" Jensen exclaimed once he had settled on Jared's back. He stroked the long neck in front of him, marveling at its softness. "Okay, I'm used to saddles but I can ride horses without. Just...don't go too fast, okay? I need to be able to hold on to someth---" He shrieked in panic when Jared shot forward and barely managed to grab onto Jared's long mane before he fell off. "Jared, wait! Stop!"

The unicorn screeched to a halt, almost causing Jensen to lose his precarious grip and fly over the long neck. Jared gave a short whinny, as if to ask, "What now?"

"I can't do it like this," Jensen tried to explain, holding up the basket. "You need to go slower."

In response, Jared reached back and matter-of-factly grabbed the picnic basket, holding it securely between his teeth. With his neck stretched out, the basket could swing freely without hurting anyone, and Jensen had both hands free to hold on tight.

Jensen grinned and wrapped both arms around Jared's neck. "Okay, let's try it this way."

And off they were again at full speed, Jensen hugging Jared tightly, his eyes closed and his face buried in the strong neck, trusting the unicorn to keep him safe. It was an exhilarating and terrifying and completely mind-blowing experience, and Jensen couldn't help but whoop like an excited kid at one point.

It took them unusually long to get to the clearing, and Jensen realized that Jared must have taken several detours through the woods, if for no other reason than just being able to run around freely. He didn't begrudge Jared the long way he took; quite the contrary, it gave him the chance to stay close to the unicorn, riding this mystical creature, for a much longer time than necessary, and Jensen enjoyed every single second of it.

When Jared finally slowed down, Jensen opened his eyes and sat up a little. He could see the clearing straight ahead, even though it was getting almost too dark to see. The unicorn stopped next to the tree trunk with the three claw marks and nuzzled the marks almost reverentially for a few moments. Only then did he step into the clearing.

Jensen slid off Jared's back and retrieved the picnic basket from where the unicorn had set it down next to the tree trunk. "This really is a special place for you, isn't it?" he asked Jared, who nodded and walked in a slow circle, as if checking the perimeter of the clearing.

Once satisfied that everything seemed to be in good order, Jared walked into the middle of the clearing and dropped to the ground, curling up with a soft sigh of happiness.

Jensen looked around at the clearing, at the almost perfectly round glade, surrounded by tall trees, with nothing but leaves on the ground. It didn't look like anything remotely spectacular but the place had something magical about it, Jensen could almost physically feel it.

He dropped to his knees next to Jared and unrolled the sleeping bag, though he was sure he wasn't going to need it. Then he spread out the blanket and placed the picnic basket on it. "Are you hungry?" he asked. "Because I could eat."

Jared immediately perked up and tried to open the lid with his nose.

"Patience," Jensen scolded with a chuckle. He opened the basket, curious what Jim had packed, and pulled out a couple of sandwiches and an apple, which Jared promptly stole and began to munch on. There were more apples and carrots, a container with pasta salad and waffles. Jensen rooted around, found water bottles and a bottle of juice, and a variety of additional food for both human and unicorn. "Well, we won't starve, that's for sure," Jensen mumbled around a large bite of sandwich.

Jared snorted at that and snagged another apple.

"Okay, we'll survive until breakfast tomorrow," Jensen said with a chuckle. "Good thing we can get new provisions anytime we want, right?"

Jared nodded at that and rolled slightly on his side, exposing his soft belly.

Jensen was fascinated and reached out. "May I?" he asked, not sure if unicorns liked having their bellies touched. At Jared's enthusiastic nod, Jensen grinned and began to stroke the belly, once again enthralled by the softness of Jared's coat. It seemed similar to a horse's coat and yet was completely different; softer, velvety, almost fluffy. "Do you need to be groomed?" he suddenly asked. He tried to picture JD with his big, strong, capable hands, using a curry brush on Jared, long strokes along the neck and back, shorter strokes down the flanks, maybe even a few teasing strokes along the chest and belly... He had to swallow hard at the sudden mental images he had conjured up, not sure why they made him feel so funny.

Jared looked unsure how to respond and finally shook his head slowly but then changed it to an enthusiastic nod.

Jensen frowned in confusion. Finally, he ventured, "You don't need to be groomed but you really enjoy it?"

Jared whinnied and nodded his head again, looking pleased that Jensen had managed to understand him.

"Well, if you like, I could groom you," Jensen suggested shyly. The idea of taking care of the unicorn this way filled him with pride. Having such a beautiful creature trust him, allow him to touch him, made Jensen feel special.

Jared immediately nodded again and reached out to nuzzle Jensen's neck in thanks.

Jensen giggled when Jared hit a ticklish spot and he gently shoved the unicorn's head out of the way. "Well, I don't have a brush with me here so you're gonna have to wait till we're back at the ranch. But until then..." He quickly finished his sandwich and then used both hands to stroke along the muscled back and scratch Jared's chest, almost giving him a massage.

The unicorn closed his eyes in pure bliss and dropped his head to the ground, rolling on his back to give Jensen better access.

Jensen chuckled and did his best to please Jared until he felt his hands cramping. It had gotten completely dark by then and Jensen contemplated looking for the flashlight in the backpack, but Jared was softly glowing again, just like the previous night. It wasn't anything obvious or glaring, more like a handful of fireflies trying to illuminate the entire clearing. It was just enough not to trip over your own feet but it didn't actually alert anyone that something unusual was going on in the clearing.

Jared curled up again on his side, gave Jensen an imploring look and then raised his head meaningfully. He had to repeat the gesture a couple more times until Jensen understood that he, too, should look up. When he finally did, he gasped loudly.

A myriad of stars were twinkling above them in the pitch-black night sky, bright and shining, completely breath-taking and stunning.

"Wow," Jensen managed to whisper, stretching his neck further and further in an attempt to see as much of the night sky as possible. He turned his head and twisted around, completely in awe at the spectacular view. "Never seen anything like this." He had grown up in a big city with light pollution so bad, it was all but impossible to see stars.

Jared neighed softly in agreement and nibbled Jensen's shoulder, as if trying to ask whether Jensen really liked it.

Jensen seemed to understand Jared perfectly. "This is a beautiful surprise, thank you!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around Jared's neck and squeezing tight. "I could stare at the stars forever!"

Jared snorted softly, as if to say, "Well, why don't you then?" and gently pushed Jensen's head back up to look at the sky.

Jensen grinned and curled up next to Jared, getting comfortable on the surprisingly soft ground and using the unicorn's body as pillow. He craned his neck a little until he found a position, snuggled close to Jared's front legs, that allowed him to relax and look up. "Perfect," he whispered, as if afraid that speaking out loud would somehow scare the stars away. He sighed softly, happily, and proceeded to look his fill.

Jared remained motionless, opting to watch Jensen and the complete and utter joy on his face instead of the night sky. When, what seemed like hours later, Jensen's eyelids began to droop, Jared carefully reached out and pulled the blanket closer with his teeth, spreading it over Jensen's body with a toss of his head. He curled his body a bit more around the young man, determined to protect Jensen from whatever possible harm might befall them during the night, and then fell asleep as well.

The next morning, after a simple breakfast of a shared apple and cold waffles -- which Jensen had to fight Jared for, and who would've thought that unicorns loved waffles? -- Jensen wondered out loud if it would be a good idea to walk back to the ranch for a quick shower.

Jared was having none of it.

"But I need to go and get more supplies anyway," Jensen argued, pointing at the almost empty picnic basket. "This will last us the rest of the day if we're lucky, but we'll wake up hungry tomorrow morning. Do you want that?"

Jared shook his head but stubbornly refused to let Jensen leave. Instead, he turned around and walked out of the clearing, but in the opposite direction of the ranch, deeper into the woods.

"Uh, Jared?" Jensen looked back and forth. "Where are you going?"

Jared stomped his hoof and snorted demandingly. Then he continued on his way, clearly expecting Jensen to follow him.

Not sure what to do but unwilling to leave Jared out of sight, Jensen finally jogged after the unicorn. "Should I take our stuff with me?" he asked but received no response. "Guess that's a no," he muttered to himself and then hastened to catch up to Jared.

They continued to walk deeper into the woods until Jensen began to worry that they were leaving the area that JD had declared "safe from guests". What if they ran into a shifter here and Jared got exposed? But the unicorn refused to stop, ignoring Jensen stubbornly until the young man gave up arguing.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, they finally climbed a small hill and Jared stopped at the top. Jensen, slightly out of breath, stopped next to him and looked around. "Wow."

A small pond was in front of them, glistening peacefully in the sunshine. The water was clear and seemed fresh, which was no wonder considering the small creek running through it. On the far side of the pond was an old wooden cabin. Even from the distance, Jensen could see three long gashes across the front door, reminding him of the Three Claws logo.

Jensen's eyes widened in realization. "Wait. Is this the cabin JD lived in when he first bought this land?" he asked.

Jared looked pleased and nodded.

"Are we even supposed to be here?" Jensen looked slightly worried. This seemed like a sacrilege, invading a private place with a lot of personal history.

Jared didn't seem to think so. He nodded at the pond and then pulled on the hem of Jensen's tee shirt with his teeth.

"You want me to take a swim? I don't have anything to wear with me!" Jensen protested, trying to rescue his tee shirt. "Or a towel, for that matter."

Jared snorted at that and tossed his head in the direction of a large, flat boulder near the cabin. It was basking in direct sunlight; a perfect spot to lounge on and get dry. The unicorn poked Jensen's belly carefully but demandingly with the tip of his horn but when he continued to balk, Jared gave him a none-too-gentle shove in his back. When this didn't work either, he matter-of-factly jumped into the pond, drenching Jensen in the process.

"Damn it, Jared!" Jensen glared but the unicorn just nickered and splashed around in the water like an excited puppy.

Since he couldn't really do anything else, Jensen decided to take off his clothes and join Jared in the pond. He felt a bit self-conscious at first but then figured that he had run around naked when he lived with pets, so why should Jared be different? But somehow, it was. Jensen couldn't really explain it, and it wasn't anything negative, but it felt more like going skinny-dipping with his school buddies.

Jared seemed to enjoy himself immensely though, which put Jensen at ease. Soon enough, they were splashing each other and laughing, just horsing around. Jared even allowed Jensen to sit on his back while the unicorn swam across the pond.

"Do you think JD would mind if I took a look inside his cabin?" Jensen asked while he was lying across the boulder, gloriously naked and basking in the warm sun. Jared was curled up on the ground next to him, enjoying the sunshine just as much, and gave a soft neigh. Jensen frowned. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Jared sighed softly and shook his head.

"So, no, he won't mind? Or no, he would mind?" Jensen asked in confusion. So much for being able to communicate without any problems. JD had years of experience but how was Jensen supposed to instinctively know what Jared meant?

The unicorn snorted, got up and matter-of-factly walked over to the cabin. He nuzzled the claw marks on the front door reverently for a long moment, then pushed the door open and trotted inside.

Jensen stared in disbelief at the retreating unicorn. Then curiosity won and he followed Jared.

The cabin looked small but cozy, with basic amenities like a bed, an overstuffed chair and a small table, a stove and a couple of cabinets. A chest of drawers was pushed against one wall, an almost empty book shelf was hanging on the opposite wall. There was a fireplace and a threadbare rug in front of it. And definitely enough room for a large animal like a fully grown unicorn to easily move around.

"Is this what JD meant when he said you knew a safe place in case something happened?"

Jared nodded.

"So you've been here before?" When Jared nodded again with something close to an eye roll, Jensen mentally smacked himself. "When JD found you in the clearing, he lived here. So he probably took you here, right? You two lived here for a while?"

This time, Jared looked pleased and whinnied softly, nodding his head.

"This place doesn't really look abandoned," Jensen observed, looking around. "Do you think JD comes back here every once in a while?"

Jared didn't respond, but he gently bit Jensen's naked butt in order to get him moving again. Jensen yelped and all but ran outside, rubbing his ass cheek, with Jared following.

"Why'd you bite me?" Jensen whined. "That hurt."

Jared snorted at that, clearly not believing Jensen's exaggerated accusation, and trotted back into the sunshine.

Jensen rubbed his butt for a few more moments, conflicting emotions coursing through him. He couldn't really explain it but the way Jared kept touching him -- from nuzzling to now biting -- made him feel...safe. Protected. Loved.

Jensen shook his head. This was ridiculous. He was clearly still freaking out about the fact that he was spending time with an actual unicorn. Even though he had felt an instant connection, a deep bond with Jared, it had to be the novelty, the incredibility of the situation messing with his head. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I guess we'd better head back," he finally just said. Lounging around in the sun had effectively dried him and he grabbed his clothes. Just as he was pulling on his tee shirt, Jensen suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

Someone was watching them.

Jensen looked around frantically, worried that one of the guests had somehow found their way to this secluded area. He was responsible for Jared, no matter how little the unicorn seemed to care for his own safety and well-being. He couldn't allow anyone to find Jared, to endanger him.

"Jared," he whispered urgently, his eyes darting around, trying to find whoever was lurking in the surrounding thicket.

The unicorn neighed softly, giving Jensen a curious look.

"Someone's out there. We gotta hide."

Jared's head immediately shot up, his ears going back and forth, trying to hear anything out of the ordinary. He stepped in front of Jensen, making himself tall, and for a long moment Jensen wondered how a pink unicorn could possibly look so menacing. A second later, Jared visibly relaxed and shook his head with a soft neigh, as if trying to tell Jensen that everything was okay and the threat -- if there had been any to begin with -- was gone.

Jensen looked around as well, but he no longer had the weird sensation of being watched. Maybe Jared was right. But it was still less than reassuring that something or someone seemed to be traipsing around in the woods, so he finished dressing in record time and then urged Jared to go back to their clearing.

In the end, Jensen decided to go back to the ranch and ask Jim for help. Besides, they had to pick up new supplies anyway.

Jared wasn't at all happy about this turn of events; he wanted to stay in the woods and frolic around. Jensen was adamant though -- Jared was going to accompany him to the ranch, even if he stayed hidden in the thicket. He was _not_ going to wait for Jensen back in the clearing.

Jared showed his displeasure by nipping Jensen's butt or poking it with his horn. He was careful not to actually hurt the young man, but he made sure that Jensen felt the quick, sharp pain. Whenever Jensen turned around to scold the unicorn, Jared pretended not to know what Jensen was talking about, giving him an innocent look.

In the end, Jensen just matter-of-factly climbed on Jared's back and rode the unicorn back to the ranch.

He found Jim in the kitchen, putting away groceries, and immediately blurted out, "Someone's in the woods stalking us!"

Jim turned around and raised one eyebrow. "And good afternoon to you too, kiddo," he deadpanned before going back to putting canned goods on a shelf. "Who's stalkin' you?"

"I don't know." Jensen sighed softly and tried to organize his thoughts. "We took a swim in a nearby pond and were just hanging out afterwards and suddenly I felt... I mean, I sensed... It was the weirdest thing. Just, you know, I could feel eyes on me."

Jim frowned. "What nearby pond?" he asked, sounding suspicious.

"Oh. Well, Jared took me to this place deeper in the woods. It's where JD used to live back in the day. His cabin's still there. Do you know it?"

"Of course I know it." Jim rubbed a hand over his face.

"Anyway, that's where it happened. I'm probably just imagining things. I mean, JD said none of the guests would be anywhere near the woods. Maybe it was just an actual animal." Jensen shrugged, trying to tell himself he was completely overreacting. "Sorry. I guess I just feel...well, protective of Jared. I want to make sure nothing happens to him. You know?"

"And that's good," Jim said, squeezing Jensen's shoulder.

"Yeah." Jensen thought for a moment. "So, uh, overreaction aside, if it's not actually dangerous, do you think we could maybe stay in JD's old cabin? I mean, I don't get why Jared has to hide in the stables most of his life. He's so happy, running around in the woods. He could stay close to the cabin and hide in it in case someone approaches. Wouldn't that be better?"

Jim looked torn. "I don't think JD wants Jared to be so far away," he finally said. "It's about an hour's walk from here. What if something happened? We wouldn't be able to get to Jared quickly. We have no way of knowing how he's doing any given moment."

"Oh." Jensen looked crushed -- it had seemed like such a perfect solution to the problem, but he understood Jim's reasoning. Then he perked up. "Well, what about the next couple days, at least? I mean, we only have until the weekend, right? If Jared and I could stay in the cabin, we could take more food with us and I could cook on the stove and there'd be a bed and--"

"I'm not sure JD would want you in his cabin." Jim's voice was calm but brooked no argument.

Jensen was taken aback by the vehemence behind the words. "Why not?" He frowned, a stubborn look on his face. "He didn't tell us _not_ to go there. He didn't tell us to just stay in the clearing. In fact, he told us to have fun in the woods and he even mentioned safe places to Jared in case of an emergency. When I asked Jared if the cabin is one of the safe places, he nodded." He crossed his arms and gave a little "so there" nod.

Jim sighed. "Kid, listen to me. I understand where you're comin' from. I understand your reasonin'. Still doesn't mean you should squat at the man's cabin. Sleep in the clearing, roam through the woods, do whatever the hell you please, just stay away from the cabin unless it's an emergency. Hell, even then, come back here instead. Okay?"

"But why?" Jensen didn't even care that he sounded whiny. He wanted this for Jared.

"Because I said so." Jim held up a hand before Jensen could protest again. "I got my reasons and I ain't at liberty to tell 'em to you. I'm sorry. Just do as I ask and when JD's back, y'all can sit down over the weekend and he'll explain everythin'."

Jensen didn't look convinced but he had to admit that Jim looked honestly unhappy that he had to put down his foot like this. He believed Jim even though he didn't understand him. "Okay," he finally said. "Though I can't promise Jared will listen to me."

"Oh, he knows damn well that he wasn't supposed to take you to the cabin," Jim growled. The look on his face made it clear that a certain unicorn was going to get a stern talking-to sooner or later.

Jensen began to really wonder what was going on and what kind of secret JD, Jim and apparently Jared were sharing. He knew he wouldn't get Jim to tell him and it would be an impossible task to figure it out even with Jared's help, so with a bit of luck, JD would be willing to share in a few days. Jensen could be patient. "Okay. We'll stay away from the cabin. Shame about the pond though, it was fun swimming in there."

Jim cracked a small smile at that. "I bet. Some other time maybe, all right?"

Jensen nodded and began to raid the kitchen for more food. There wasn't really anything else he could do here for now.

He was surprised when Jim shoved several cans of tuna at him. "Uh, thanks? But I'm not a big fan of tuna."

"That's for Jared," Jim replied, chuckling. "Don't ask."

"But...shouldn't he only eat oats and apples and carrots and stuff?"

"Don't tell me he didn't steal your waffles this morning."

Jensen frowned. "Yeah, he actually did."

"He's not a horse, kid. We have no damn clue what unicorns should eat. We let him snack on whatever he wants." Jim shrugged. "Up till now he hasn't died on us yet."

Jensen stared at the canned tuna. "Okay, but...tuna?"

Jim shrugged. "You just gotta take it out of the can for him. Offer it in your palm or put it in a bowl or somethin'."

"That's one weird unicorn," Jensen muttered to himself, stuffing the cans into the picnic basket.

"Oh kid. You don't know the half of it."

When Jensen got close enough to the thicket where Jared was waiting, he discovered that a parrot was complacently perching on the unicorn's horn, grooming the mane.

"Hey, Misha. Didn't expect to see you here," Jensen said, reaching out to stroke the brightly colored bird.

Misha bobbed his head in greeting and then eyed the picnic basket. "Cookie?"

Jared immediately perked up and nickered.

"Well..." Jensen looked unsure. "Yeah, there are some cookies in there but I don't think--"

"Cookie!" Misha screeched demandingly, flapping his wings.

Jensen had already been witness to several full-blown tantrums and knew the parrot wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. "Okay, fine. But only one." Jensen sighed and opened the container, revealing a dozen freshly made oatmeal cookies.  
Misha screeched again, excitedly this time, and held up one foot.

Jensen gave him the cookie and chuckled at the sight of the parrot, perching precariously on one foot while holding a giant cookie in the other, nibbling on it.

Neither Misha nor Jensen anticipated Jared's desire for a treat as well. The unicorn quickly grabbed a cookie from the open container with his teeth, surprising Jensen and startling Misha who flapped his wings to stay upright.

"You could've just said something," Jensen scolded Jared, quickly putting the lid back on the container. "Nothing more for you until after dinner, you weird unicorn."

In response, Jared blew hot air into Jensen's face.

"You know, I _could_ just stay here at the ranch," Jensen threatened, which earned him a nuzzle from Jared. "Suck-up," Jensen laughed, pushing the unicorn's soft nose out of the way. "Okay, fine. We'll go back to the clearing. Hey, Misha, you coming with?"

Misha cocked his head, apparently giving the question some serious thought, but finally he just said, "Bye-bye!" and took flight.

Jensen watched the parrot leave and then turned to Jared. "Jim said we're not allowed to go back to the cabin," he said. "And he said you knew that."

Jared managed to look chagrined.

"But he didn't say we're supposed to go straight to the clearing and stay there. In fact, he told me to explore the woods if I wanted to." He flashed a bright grin. "And I totally want to."

Jared whinnied happily and snatched the picnic basket out of Jensen's hand. Once Jensen had climbed on his back, Jared trotted off, deeper into the woods.

While Jensen enjoyed the tour and discovering new places, Jared had the time of his life, running at full speed. He slowed down to a leisurely walk at times, whenever he wanted Jensen to see something special, like a cave or when they crossed a brook. Jensen, for his part, just held on for dear life, his arms wrapped tightly around Jared's strong neck, and took everything in.

When they came to a small area filled with wild berries, Jensen made quick work of collecting several handfuls for breakfast the next morning. Of course he and Jared sampled the berries repeatedly and were completely thrilled with the juicy sweetness exploding on their tongues.

They spent several hours exploring the woods and were exhausted but happy when they finally arrived in the clearing. They ate a quick dinner and then Jensen spent some time lovingly brushing the unicorn and even braiding Jared's tail.

It had gotten dark by the time they snuggled together again; Jensen curled up between Jared's legs. The moon was bright in the night sky, casting shadows around the two of them.

Jensen was, once again, struck by the sense of security he felt when he was with Jared. He knew, without a doubt, that the unicorn would protect him and keep him safe, no matter what. He couldn't even really explain it but he knew, just _knew_ , that they shared a profound bond. If he believed in this sort of thing, he would call Jared his soulmate -- and how ridiculous was that anyway? They barely knew each other, had only just met, and Jared couldn't even speak.

"Maybe it's because we're both freaks," Jensen muttered to himself.

Jared raised his head and made an inquisitive, slightly disapproving sound.

Realizing that he had talked out loud, Jensen blushed. "I'm sorry," he said hastily. "I don't mean that you're a freak or anything. I mean, in a way you are. Like, a freak of nature. Right? Because you're not an animal. You're not a human but you're also not a shifter." Jensen swallowed hard. "Like me," he finally added in a whisper.

Jared whinnied softly and gave Jensen a curious poke.

"Never mind," Jensen mumbled, shaking his head. "Forget I ever said anything."

But Jared was having none of it. He nipped Jensen's shoulder in warning.

Jensen sighed softly and buried his face in his hands. "It's just...I never told anyone about this..."

Jared nickered in response and pushed his nose against Jensen's neck, nuzzling him there.

It had the desired effect because Jensen giggled softly and twisted away, revealing his face again. "That tickles!" he protested, then saw the smug look on the unicorn's face. "I never told _anyone_ , Jared," Jensen said, trying to make his friend understand.

Jared gave him a "so what?" look and tossed his head. Jensen finally realized why JD could so easily converse with the unicorn: he knew exactly what Jared was telling him. "Why won't you tell me?" the head toss said. "I'm here. I'm listening."

Jensen sighed softly again. "You won't believe me," he hedged.

Jared just snorted derisively.

"Okay," Jensen finally said, hiding his face in the unicorn's incredibly soft neck. He began to speak slowly, hesitantly. "When I was sixteen, I went camping with some friends. It was summer, we went skinny-dipping in a nearby lake, had some beers--" Jared snorted disapprovingly at that. "A couple of the guys had older brothers who bought the beer for us. I grew up in Texas and it was a rite of passage sorta thing." He sighed softly and snuggled closer, immediately relaxing. Jared had that effect on him, he realized with a smile. "Anyway, I woke up in the middle of the night, a few yards away from the camp. I don't remember how I got there or why I moved. But the thing that freaked me out was...well, I wasn't myself anymore."

Jared made an inquisitive sound.

Jensen blushed crimson. "I was a deer. I mean, the first thing I realized was that I was barely keeping upright. I was hobbling around and when I looked down, there were...well, spindly, long, furry legs. And hooves." He swallowed hard. "I flipped, you know? What was happening to me? Then I realized that all of my senses were off. Like, I could smell the faintest scent of nearby flowers and my hearing was weirdly heightened and I could see really well even though it was dark. I was near the lake so I stumbled closer and looked at my reflection in the water. A deer stared back at me."

Jared nuzzled reassuringly at Jensen's neck and then proceeded to lick his face. Jensen hadn't even realized that he was crying.

"I panicked," he continued after a long moment. "I tried to scream but there was only this weird bleating noise coming out of me. Then I realized that my friends were nearby and they would probably wake up any second and try to hunt me or something and...and..." He waved one hand around helplessly. "I guess I blacked out or something. Next thing I know I wake up again, my legs in the lake. My real legs. I'm me again. Jensen." He pats his own torso to emphasize his human self. "I still have no idea how I managed to change back. Or how I shifted in the first place."

Jared nodded his head slowly to show he understood. He nuzzled Jensen's face again and made an inquisitive sound.

"No," Jensen said, shaking his head. "I never shifted again." He pulled a face. "Which is why I've started to wonder if maybe I had just imagined things. You know, maybe had one too many beers or something."

Jared shook his head decisively.

Jensen frowned. "How would you know?" he challenged.

Jared stood up and stomped one hoof, tossing his head.

Jensen frowned even more. "What? No, I'm not trying to shift again just to show you."

Jared stomped his hoof, harder this time. He snorted in warning.

"Look." Jensen got up as well, holding up his hands. He tried to sound reasonable. "I came here because I was curious. I mean, after that one night all those years ago, I kept wondering, am I really a shifter? Why did it take me so long to shift for the first time? How did I shift in the first place? How did I manage to shift back?" He shrugged. "I know that shifters are supposedly treated equally these days but honestly, I'm from the suburbs in mid-Texas. We don't talk about shifters, we don't know any shifters, we don't acknowledge the existence of shifters. It was really difficult for me to find out more about the shifter society. There's still not much out there, you know?"

Jared nodded his head in agreement, though Jensen wondered how the unicorn would really know. Jared stomped his hoof demandingly again.

"I found Misha's book in some obscure second hand bookstore," Jensen continued, steadfastly ignoring Jared's attitude. "I read it so many times, I know it by heart. But it doesn't mention how to shift. So I never tried again. I was so worried what would happen if I do manage to shift into the deer again, only to be stuck in that form. My parents would've been devastated."

Jared whinnied in disapproval.

"Close-minded Texans, remember? They're good folk, honest, just...very set in their ways." Jensen shrugged. "I figured if I found this elusive resort that Misha had hinted at in his book, I might find some answers. And let me tell you, it was damn near impossible to find this place. I know it must be commonly known in shifter society but no matter how hard I tried to join private forums on the internet or contact the few shifters living openly with their...special condition, I got ignored everywhere."

Jared nickered softly.

"Yeah," Jensen said, surprising himself again by how easily he could understand the unicorn. "It's a very tight-knit group. I guess they have to be in order to survive, with all the hate and bigotry still around."

Jared snuffed at that and blew air into Jensen's face.

"I know I'm part of that group now. Or, you know, I think I might be. Unless I hallucinated the whole thing back when I was sixteen."

Jared stomped his hoof again and tossed his head demandingly.

"But I don't know how!" Jensen exclaimed in frustration.

Jared stepped right in front of his friend, made sure that he had Jensen's attention, and then closed his eyes slowly. He took a deep breath, held it for a five count, and then released it again. He repeated this twice before opening his eyes again and looking at Jensen expectantly.

Jensen snorted in disbelief. "That's all?" he asked. "That's supposed to make me shift?"

Jared shook his head at that. He repeated closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, but then added hanging his head slightly, visibly relaxing his body. He opened his eyes and gave Jensen an encouraging nod.

"I doubt it's that easy," Jensen retorted. "And anyway, even if it does work, how am I going to shift back, huh?"

In response, Jared stomped his hoof and nipped Jensen's ass cheek. Hard.

"Hey!" Jensen twisted around and glared at the unicorn. "How would _you_ know all this stuff anyway? You're not even a shifter."

He regretted the words as soon as he had said them. Jared's eyes darkened immediately -- not in anger but in despair. The unicorn was clearly hurt, if not devastated.

"I'm sorry," Jensen said, wrapping his arms tightly around Jared's neck. "I'm so sorry. That was totally uncalled for. Please forgive me, Jared."

The unicorn stood stiffly in Jensen's embrace for a long moment but then visibly relaxed and nuzzled behind Jensen's ear as a show of forgiveness. He placed his head on Jensen's shoulder and sighed softly.

"You really think I can shift?"

Jared nodded and pulled back enough to blow air into Jensen's face with an encouraging whinny.

"If something goes wrong, you have to promise me to run back to the ranch and get help. Jim is going to kick your ass, fair warning."

Jared nickered at that, clearly amused, but he dutifully nodded his head.

"Okay, fine." Jensen didn't really believe this would work, but he closed his eyes, took a couple of slow, deep breaths and relaxed. He told himself -- he _willed_ himself -- to shift, tried to focus on Jared's complete and utter faith in his ability to shift, and suddenly, without warning, he felt his head change. The ears became longer, the nose elongated, there were weird, heavy things growing out of his forehead. A disconnected voice in the back of his head whispered "antlers" but Jensen was too busy trying to catalogue all the different sights and smells that were bombarding him.

He took a small step and stumbled. When he looked down, Jensen realized that one -- and only one -- of his legs had shifted, and his hoof had gotten caught on his boot, almost causing him to fall. It was all but impossible to keep his balance on one human and one deer leg, and he stumbled again, bumping into Jared.

The unicorn was frantically whinnying and pulling at Jensen's tee shirt with his teeth, shaking his head as if to say, "Stop, wait, you need to take off your clothes first."

But it was too late. From one second to the next, the rest of Jensen's body shifted, and he dropped on all fours. His spindly legs got hopelessly tangled in the jeans and the tee shirt sleeves and he stumbled again, making a high-pitched sound full of distress.

Jared rushed forward and pushed his body against Jensen's smaller one, helping him stay upright. He wrapped his long neck around the deer and nickered softly, calmingly, then took a couple of deliberate, deep breaths. The unicorn's torso expanded visibly, pushing against Jensen's body.

Jensen, mind awhirl with millions of questions, focused on the deep breaths and forced his own body to calm down. It didn't feel like his own body, even though on some level he knew it was his. Jensen realized that his higher brain functions were severely limited while he was in shifter form, though he also felt his instinct and heightened senses making up for it. He was thinking in abstract images instead of so many words, instinctively sensed that the unicorn next to him was his friend without logically being able to explain why.

It was the weirdest, strangest, most terrifying experience of his life.

It was also the most liberating feeling.

From one moment to the next, without conscious effort, Jensen somehow managed to shift back into his human form. He gasped and collapsed on the ground, his clothes askew, and stared helplessly at Jared, who immediately dropped down next to him to curl around him protectively.

"Holy crap, that was wild," Jensen managed to press out, wrapping himself tightly around his friend. He began to tremble uncontrollably.

Jared managed to snag the nearby blanket and pulled it over. He whinnied softly and snorted with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, I should've taken my clothes off first," Jensen mumbled into Jared's neck. "Thanks for warning me ahead of time."

Jared gently bit into Jensen's ass for the snarky comment but then made an inquisitive, slightly worried sound.

"I'm fine," Jensen said, then added, slightly unsure, "I guess." He snuggled closer, the first wave of shock having worn off. "So I'm really a shifter, huh?"

Jared neighed with a nod of his head.

"Wow."

Jared nuzzled him curiously.

"Yeah," Jensen said contemplatively after a long moment. "I think I'll try it again in a little while." He pressed a quick kiss to Jared's muzzle. "I feel safe with you watching over me. Never could've done it without you."

Jared made a pleased sound. With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he pulled on Jensen's tee shirt again.

"I know, I know. Undress first, shift later." Jensen chuckled and snuggled closer. For now, all he wanted to do was cuddle with his friend, gaze at the stars and contemplate his future.

Before he could lose himself in his thoughts, however, Jensen suddenly heard some rustling nearby, causing him to sit up in alarm.

Jared raised his head worriedly at the same time, looking in the same general direction Jensen did.

The rustling grew louder and, despite the relative darkness of the surrounding area, Jensen could make out movement. Something -- someone? -- was advancing on their clearing.

Jensen jumped up and shrieked in panic when a bear stepped out of the woods. A big, brown bear with unbelievably long and extremely sharp claws stopped a few feet away from them and got up on its hind legs, making it look even scarier.

Jared got up as well and stepped protectively in front of Jensen, then reared up in warning.

"No, Jared, don't!" Jensen screamed, trying to push the unicorn out of harm's way.

Jared, however, ignored his friend and instead danced on the spot, tossing his head and whinnying at the bear.

Jensen couldn't believe the bravery -- the stupidity -- of the unicorn. "We gotta get out of here," he said urgently. In the back of his head, he berated himself for leaving the picnic basket out in the open. Of course it would entice the local wildlife to come investigate.

But were bears actually local wildlife? Jensen wondered while staring in disbelief at Jared, who was still busy interacting with the bear.

After one last demanding head toss, accentuated by a hoof stomp, from Jared, the bear growled once and then began to shimmer.

Right in front of Jensen's eyes, the big, furry body shifted into a naked male body. Jensen shrieked again once he realized that the man in front of him was JD.

"You're a shifter?!" he exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes wide and locked on the naked body before him.

"This is exactly what I was trying to avoid," JD grumbled at Jared while grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around himself.

Jared just snorted and came closer to give JD a loving nuzzle.

"You're a shifter," Jensen repeated, calmer this time but still in disbelief. "You never said... I always thought... Misha only ever talks about you as a shifter advocate..."

JD smiled softly. "I can be both, you know?" He shrugged. "But yeah, I'm a shifter."

Jared whinnied softly and pushed his nose against JD's chest.

"I know, buddy," JD said. "I saw it, too. Our Jensen is a shifter."

Jensen promptly blushed.

"And you're an absolutely adorable little deer." JD reached out and wrapped one arm around Jensen's shoulders, giving him a big squeeze. "Remember what I told you about shifters recognizing each other in shifter form? I might be a bear but I would never harm you."

Jensen nodded but then frowned. "Why didn't I recognize you when I shifted? Were you around? You must have watched us." How else would JD know Jensen's shifter form was a deer, after all? "Shouldn't I be able to sense you close by?"

JD beamed like a proud teacher. "Normally, yes. But I wasn't in shifter form when I watched you. Shifters don't sense humans unless they've got years of experience."

"But why did you watch us in your human form? Why did you watch us, period? And why did you shift before you came out here?"

JD chuckled and pressed a finger across Jensen's lips. "I shifted because I wanted to avoid running into you naked. I watched you because I wanted to see if you could shift."

Jared nickered and tossed his head.

JD nodded. "Yeah. I also watched you because I wanted to see if something happened after you shifted." He reached out to stroke Jared's neck. "You were hoping for the same thing, weren't you?" he asked the unicorn, sounding sad.

Jared sighed and hung his head.

JD pressed his forehead against Jared's. "I know, buddy. Me, too. I'm so sorry."

Jensen watched the exchange with a confused frown. "What did you hope was going to happen?" he asked. "I don't understand."

JD smiled sadly and pressed a kiss to Jared's nose. "I think it's only fair to tell Jensen, don't you?"

Jared gave Jensen a long look and nodded, then plopped to the ground. He looked at JD demandingly.

JD chuckled and sat down next to the unicorn, resting his back against a fallen tree. Jared immediately placed his head into JD's lap and sighed contentedly.

Not wanting to be left out, Jensen sat down as well and leaned against Jared's strong torso. "Tell me what?" he asked, looking from JD to the unicorn and back.

JD smiled softly. "This is going to be a long story."

"Once upon a time in these woods," JD began, only to be interrupted by a loud, derisive snort by Jared.

Jensen chuckled at the unicorn's dramatics.

"Okay, fine. No fairytale for you." JD gave a haughty sniff but then smiled and winked. "Still, the story does begin in these woods. In this very clearing, actually."

"This is where you first met Jared," Jensen said.

JD nodded. "That's right. It was a couple of weeks after I bought this land." He made an all-encompassing gesture with one arm. "In fact, I found this land while I was in shifter form. Back in the day, I used to spend as much time shifted as I possibly could. I was a loner and a drifter, basically roaming through Canada and the northern states. I was constantly on the move. Well, until I discovered this piece of heaven." JD smiled as he looked up at the stars. "I don't even really remember how I got here. All I remember is suddenly standing right here, in this clearing, and I knew it was _home_."

Jensen nodded slowly. He knew exactly what JD meant. He had felt the same way as soon as he had set foot on the resort.

"It's kinda funny really," JD continued. "My shifter self marked the place as my own before my human self even had the chance to explore it."

"Mark? How?" Jensen asked curiously, but immediately snapped his fingers in realization. "The three slashes everywhere!"

JD chuckled. "Yeah. Though I wouldn't say the marks are _everywhere_. I just happened to mark important places." He held out his right hand and shifted it. Jensen gasped loudly as he watched a human arm turn into a bear arm. The sharp claws were impressive and very scary. JD extended his paw to show off the claws. "I marked the tree stump over there even before I knew what an important, special place this clearing would turn out to be in my life." He slashed the paw through the air in demonstration. "I continued to mark other places on purpose later on."

"The cabin door," Jensen said. "And the entry gate."

"Among other places. The slashes can be found all over the property, especially along the border."

"This is so awesome," Jensen enthused. "Like a secret symbol."

JD grinned. "I guess my shifter self is more territorial than my human self," he said with a shrug. "My human self just decided to make the most of it and name the place after the marks." He slashed his paw through the air again and then shifted it back into a human arm. "Anyway. I stayed for a little while, exploring the area, shifting back and forth. I realized that this was what I wanted, where I would settle down." JD sighed softly and began to stroke Jared's ears. "I made some inquiries and found out the land was on sale. I had some money stashed away, more than I would ever need because I spent most of my time in shifter form, and I knew how to get the rest. So I bought this land and made it my home."

Jared neighed softly in approval.

"Back then, I had no idea what to do with this place, to be honest. I just knew I had to own it." JD chuckled at the memories. "I built a small cabin for me to live in though I still spent most of my time in shifter form."

"That's the one near the pond, right?" Jensen pointed in the general direction.

JD nodded. "Yeah."

"Jim said I wasn't supposed to go near it." Jensen gave Jared a sideways glance. "He also said a certain unicorn knew better than to take me there."

Jared raised his head just enough to blow hot air into Jensen's face in retaliation for tattling.

JD chuckled and booped the unicorn's nose. "Behave, you," he gently admonished. "Besides, Jim's right. Well, that's not entirely true. For future references, I don't mind you two going there. I just didn't want you to go there now."

Jensen frowned in confusion. A few moments later, his eyes widened in realization. "You were staying there and didn't want us to find you."

JD nodded.

Jensen's eyes widened even more. "Someone was watching us at the cabin. That was you, wasn't it?"

JD nodded again.

Jared made a soft noise of unhappiness and then sighed dejectedly.

"I know, buddy," JD said, immediately hugging the unicorn as best he could. He pressed a kiss to Jared's nose. "I don't like lying to you guys either."

Jensen frowned again in confusion. "Lied to us?" He thought for a long moment. "Oh. Because you said you would be gone for a few days, running some errands and checking on your property."

"Well, yeah. It was a bit of a white lie and I apologize for that. Now, Jared here, he knew I'd be staying close to you guys, so I only really lied to you."

"What? Why?" Jensen looked more upset at the thought of Jared knowing all along and not telling him.

"That's where the long story comes in." JD smiled softly. "So, you wanna hear it?"

"Of course." Jensen had no idea what was going on but he was determined to find out. "This'd better be good."

"Oh, trust me, it is. Unfortunately, it doesn't really have much of a happy ending, but the story is pretty damn awesome."

Jared neighed sadly and pressed his head closer to JD's chest, demanding a cuddle, which the older man was only too happy to give him.

"Okay, back to when I first got here," JD said, picking up his story again. "I spent most of my time roaming the land, getting to know the area better, when one day I come back to this clearing and a damn unicorn is standing in the middle of it."

Jared nickered loudly, as if to say, "That was me!"

Jensen chuckled and gave the unicorn a quick belly rub. "Who else would it be, silly?"

"Exactly. Now, I was in shifter form at the time and I got seriously confused because for the life of me I couldn't sense Jared. That told me he wasn't a shifter."

"Aside from the fact that he wasn't a real animal?" Jensen threw in.

"Well, that too. But in shifter form, your thought processes are a little different." JD shrugged. "Still, I immediately felt a bond with this creature. I couldn't explain why, I just felt incredibly protective of him." He stroked Jared's neck lovingly. "I shifted back into human form and tried everything to get information out of him, but Jared didn't remember anything. Right?"

Jared immediately shook his head.

"Still doesn't, in fact."

"Yeah, you mentioned that." Jensen stroked the unicorn's neck as well. "I'm so sorry, Jared."

"As I already told you, after some trial and error we figured out that he had to be cursed. Jim and Misha joined us here but nothing helped. Finally, we decided that we might not be able to help one pink unicorn, but we _could_ help other shifters by offering them sanctuary."

"A place where they could be themselves." Jensen nodded. "Spending time here is like taking a vacation from your human self. That's what Mark told me."

"Pretty good explanation." JD looked pleased that he could apparently make his fellow shifters feel this way. "So we started to build the resort. Officially, it's a very exclusive vacation spot for the rich and famous -- all very hush-hush. It's impossible to keep something like this completely hidden from the locals, obviously, so we tried to put up some smokescreens. It works, for the most part. Sometimes, local teenagers try to sneak in. I think it's some kind of rite of passage for them."

"Or maybe just a dare?" Jensen suggested. "If this is some secret, mysterious place, it's bound to be interesting."

"The forbidden fruit, you mean?" JD thought about that for a moment. "Maybe. Either way, usually I'm good at catching them before they trespass. Running into a grumpy bear usually scares them away." He grinned evilly.

"That day when I first came here," Jensen said hesitantly. "You chased away a bunch of teenagers. They were already in the courtyard."

"Yeah." JD scowled. "I was distracted and didn't keep an eye on things. Jared had one of his stubborn days so I got held up in the stables, arguing with him why running around outside with guests on the premises was a stupid idea."  
Jensen bit his lip. He remembered seeing JD running out of the stables, waving a pitch fork at the teenagers. They had been so close to finding the unicorn. Jared had come horribly close to being discovered. Jensen wrapped himself tightly around his friend, as if wanting to convince himself that Jared was truly safe from harm.

Jared whinnied softly and nuzzled Jensen's neck in response, trying to calm him down.

"Everything's fine," JD said, reaching out and squeezing Jensen's shoulder. "Nothing bad happened that day, remember? In fact, something incredibly good happened that day. We met you." He smiled brightly, causing Jensen to blush.

Jared immediately nodded and neighed in agreement.

"See, the thing is, after Jim and Misha and I figured out that Jared had to have been cursed, we tried to find a cure. Since there's no hard evidence on curses, we were stuck with ideas from killing the witch who cursed him to finding his one true love."

"Violence is never the answer," Jensen stated solemnly. "I like the true love idea better."

JD chuckled. "So did we, didn't we, Jared?" The unicorn whinnied. "And I gotta tell ya, by that time I had fallen in love with this beautiful boy." JD pressed a loving kiss to Jared's forehead. "I know it sounds ridiculous. We have nothing in common, really. Hell, we couldn't even really communicate."

"That's not true," Jensen protested. "Jared and I communicate just fine. You don't need to speak the same language to understand each other."

JD smiled proudly. "You're absolutely right. I phrased that badly. But I think you know what I mean."

Jensen nodded, looking sad. "Two completely different worlds colliding."

"Exactly. So, if we went with the idea of Jared's true love being able to lift the curse, it was clearly not me." JD looked crestfallen. "And that was really devastating."

Jared raised his head enough to nuzzle JD lovingly.

"I know, big guy," JD said, stroking the unicorn's neck. "We'll always love each other. It's just that our love isn't strong enough to break the curse."

"What if true love isn't the solution?" Jensen ventured hesitantly.

"Well, thing is, we still think it is. Or at least we thought so. See, the thing is, we figured the right person would come along eventually. Jared and Misha completely agree with me on this, by the way."

"And Jim?"

JD laughed softly. "Jim's a grouchy old man who believes love is for teenaged fools."

Jensen grinned at that.

JD grew serious again. "So, anyway. We waited about ten years, never losing hope that one day, Jared's true love would show up." He locked eyes with Jensen. "And then, one day, you were there."

Jensen's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

JD held up a hand. "Don't panic, please. Hear me out, okay?"

Jensen nodded. "Of course." He scratched Jared under his chin. "Who wouldn't fall in love with him? But...true love?"

"The second I saw you, I knew you were special," JD said. "I can't explain how or why. I just knew. But of course I had to be careful at first. Jared is like a priceless treasure. I couldn't just drag you to him."

"What changed your mind?" Jensen asked curiously.

JD smiled. "You did. Well, Misha and Jim and I kept a close eye on you at first and we realized you were a genuinely good person. We knew pretty early on that we'd be able to trust you with Jared even if you didn't end up being his true love. So we had planned on introducing you two sooner or later but then Jared here got stubborn and decided to take matters into his own hands."

Jared snorted at that, looking smug.

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, Misha told him all about you so he got curious. The night you ran into Jared here in the clearing? Jared told me he just _knew_ he had to leave the stables and come here though he had no idea why."

"I wasn't planning on coming here," Jensen said. "It was a spur of the moment thing. I remembered seeing the clearing when we were riding past it and thought it would be a good place to explore."

"You didn't want to explore. You wanted to try to shift."

Jensen's eyes widened. "What?"

JD shrugged. "I knew you were a shifter."

"But how? You told me that shifters only recognized each other in shifter form." He frowned. "I definitely didn't recognize anyone as shifter while I was in human form."

"You can't recognize shifters while you're both in human form," JD agreed. "But I have a pretty good gut feeling. The second I saw you, I knew you were special."

Jensen had no idea how to respond to that.

"I was hoping you'd open up to me or maybe Misha at some point. We both figured you were struggling with your shifter self. I'm sure we could've helped you in some way."

Jared whinnied impatiently.

"Okay, okay, big guy. Back to the story." JD turned to Jensen again. "When you ran into Jared here in the clearing, nothing happened. Jared's curse stayed intact."

Jensen was close to tears. "I'm so sorry, Jared," he whispered, burying his face into the unicorn's soft neck. "I wish I could help you."

Jared snuffled softly and nuzzled Jensen in an attempt to calm him down again.

JD tickled Jared's ears with one hand and used his other hand to rub Jensen's arm soothingly. "We figured you might have to be in shifter form to have any effect on Jared," he explained. "Our beloved unicorn here was completely taken with you after that meeting. He couldn't wait to get to know you better."

"But we only saw each other for like three seconds," Jensen protested. It made no sense. How could such a brief meeting have such a deep impact on anyone? Then again, he remembered how taken he had been with Jared. Back then, he had tried to tell himself that the novelty, the mystery of seeing a unicorn, was the only reason why he obsessed about it. But deep down, if he were honest with himself, he knew that from the very first moment, he and Jared had shared a special bond.

"Apparently, three seconds were enough to convince Jared that you were someone very special." JD smiled warmly. "And he's right about that."

Jensen ducked his head, blushing slightly.

"We were hoping that something would happen once you shifted," JD continued.

"That's why you were following us. You wanted to be there in case..." Jensen swallowed hard, blinking back tears again. "But even my shifting didn't help Jared. I couldn't break the curse."

"Yeah," JD said softly. "We were so sure though. Not just Mish and I. Even Jared was convinced. If it couldn't be me, it had to be you."

Jared nodded his head vigorously, looking distressed when Jensen started to cry.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't help you, Jared." Jensen hugged the unicorn tightly. "Love you anyway, even if you'll stay a unicorn forever."

JD reached out and pulled the younger man into his lap. He gave Jensen a bear hug. "That's how we all feel about Jared," he said fiercely. "True love knows no bounds, and that includes species."

"Yeah." Jensen sniffled and curled up against JD's strong chest. He reached out for Jared, who readily placed his head into both men's laps with a soft sigh.

"So that's the long story without the happy ending. But we're okay," JD said fiercely. "We'll make it work."

Jensen nodded in agreement and Jared neighed, snuggling closer.

Jensen slowly blinked his eyes open as the first rays of sunshine kissed his face. He shook his head in confusion and needed a few moments to figure out where he was. Then it all came back to him.

The clearing.

Shifting in front of Jared.

Finding JD and hearing all about Jared's curse.

The thought of not being able to break the curse felt like a stab to his heart. Jensen flinched visibly and tried to sit up but had a difficult time coordinating his limbs.

That was the moment he realized that he was currently in shifter form, with four spindly legs refusing to work together.

He must have taken his clothes off at some point during the night, probably when they were all snuggling together like a pile of puppies, because his jeans and tee shirt lay discarded a couple of feet away. At least he wasn't hopelessly tangled up in his clothes like a few hours earlier. That had been embarrassing.

Jensen blinked again in the bright sunlight, still trying to get his bearings.

He realized he was reclining against something big and warm and furry.

A bear.

A big, brown, softly snoring bear who had one giant paw thrown protectively over Jensen's back.

He tried to speak up, to wake up JD or ask him to shift back, but only a soft bleating noise came out of his mouth.

JD growled back sleepily, slowly blinking his eyes open.

"Uh, guys?"

Jensen whipped his head around and stared in disbelief at a naked young man with long hair, who was sitting next to them, his arms wrapped protectively around his pulled up knees, a perplexed look on his face.

JD shifted into his human form within a split-second. He knelt down in front of the young man, eyes wide in disbelief, and reached out a hesitant, trembling hand. "Jared?"

Even though his shifter brain was processing things differently, Jensen still recognized the name and understood the implications. He frantically tried to shift back into his human form while he watched the two men slowly, reverently touching each other.

"Jared," JD whispered again. It sounded like a prayer. His fingertips gently traced the younger man's jawline.

The young man closed his eyes and turned his face into JD's cupped hand, then pressed a soft kiss against the palm. "JD," he said softly, with a voice rough from non-use.

Jensen made a distressed sound, causing both men to look at him. They each reached out with one hand and stroked Jensen's neck. The touch was enough to help Jensen shift back into his human form and he fell forward, into strong, waiting arms. He stared in disbelief at the young man. "Jared? Are you really Jared?"

The young man looked just as shell-shocked by the turn of events as Jensen felt, but he flashed a radiant smile, showing deep dimples. "JD. Jensen." He threw himself around the older man and hugged him tight for a long moment. "My bear." Then he hugged Jensen just as tightly. "And my deer." He leaned back, looking back and forth between his friends -- _his true loves_ \-- and beamed. "We made it. _You_ made it. My bear and my deer found a way to break the curse."

Jensen shared a long look of disbelief, of wonder, of astonishment, with JD. Could it have been so easy?

"Told you that true love would be able to break the curse," JD said, blinking tears of happiness away.

"True loves," Jared corrected gently, emphasizing the plural. He hugged both men tightly again. "True shifter loves."

Jensen pressed a kiss to Jared's cheek and flashed a bright grin. "Guess our story has a happy ending after all, huh?"

 


End file.
